Defending Champions Spain took a great stride towards their title defence after they beat France 2-0 in the quarterfinals of the 2012 Euro Cup. Spain outmaneuvered France’s defensive strategy and dominated the ball position and the Les Blues were no match for them in the middle.
World champions finally got the breakthrough in the 19th minute after Xabi Alonso headed in off a Jordi Alba’s cross.
They struck the final blow in the second after Alonso coolly converted a penalty to ensure that they meet their Iberian neighbors Portugal in the semifinals.
Here are some of the hits and flops of the match:
Spain:
Xabi Alonso: Xabi Alonso was playing in 100th international match for Spain and what a way to celebrate the milestone event. He scored a brace to help Spain move into the semis. Even if not for the brace, Xabi had an awesome game otherwise too. He was precise with passing and long clearances, was good with his distribution and made some good clearances to avert danger.
Jordi Alba: He had a great day and assisted Xabi with a superb cross from the left flank for the first goal. He was livewire on the field and Mathieu Debuchy was at the receiving end as he could hardly get past him.
Flops:
Fernando Torres: Replaced Cesc Fabregas in the 67th minute, Torres hardly could offer anything to the team’s cause. He kept on losing possession and even could not beat France’s goalkeeper in a one on one.
France:
Hits
Laurent Koscielny: Arguably the best player for France in the match, Koscielny was the only player who could show some character and tried to deny Spain occasions to score. He was defending with grit and also made some great runs but lack of support from the front never saw any of his attempts capitalizing.
Flops:
Karim Benzema: Lot was expected from the striker but he failed to live up to any of his expectations. Was dreadful in the match, could not offer any threat to Spanish defence and lost possession very easily. Ended the tournament goalless.
Florent Malouda: The biggest flop of the match, Malouda was the woeful in the middle. And all that could be said is that he was horrible.
By Indian Sports News Network
