Spain are in the finals of the Euro Cup 2012 for the third consecutive times after they beat their Iberian rivals Portugal 4-2 on penalties as no goals were scored in the regulation and extra time.

Both the teams enjoyed fair share of possession but then nothing could separate these two teams. In the penalties, Spain missed one whereas Portugal missed two and their star Ronaldo could not even get a chance to shoot. The match was expected to be a cracker but then the way it was settled was very unfortunate for Ronaldo and Co. who held the La Roja for 120 minutes.

The match saw some very good players in action but then while some of them lived up to the expectations some failed. Here are some of the hits and flops of the match:

Spain:

Hits:

Iker Cassilas:  The Portuguese attack did not test much during the regulation time and he had a very easy outing but then one cannot keep Cassilas out of action for long. He pulled up a heroic save to Joao Moutinho’s shot in the shoot out to help Spain into the finals.

Andres Iniesta: No one would have expected him to miss like that in the extra time which could have sealed the match for Spain even before the penalties. But nevertheless, Iniesta if not at his best, still was good with his passing and created some good moves. He was tormenting Portuguese defenders on many occasions.

Flops:

David Silva: Could not produce any good runs for his teams and even when he did, it lacked conviction. Rather than attacking, he was seen defending most of time and Fabio Coentrao gave him some real hard time.

Alvaro Negredo: It was quite surprising to see Negredo starting ahead of Cesc Fabregas and Fernando Torres. He should have made use of the opportunity but then he failed every time he charged forward and was taken off in the 60th minutes. He should have made good use of the opportunity.

Portugal:

Hits

Pepe: Was like a rock in his central defending position and worked well in the middle along with Bruno Alves. Was great on air and reacted well to avert danger.

Fabio Coentrao: Arguably the best Portuguese player on display and was good with both defending and attacking. Was lightening fast and tormented Silva throughout the match.

Flops:

Bruno Alves:  Was well with his defensive skills but then created unnecessary fouls and finally was booked in the 85th minutes. Missed the penalty which saw Portugal crash out of the tournament.

Nani: The winger did at times look dangerous but otherwise had a very day at the office. Was bad with his decision making and conceded possession often.

By Samikshan Dutta Choudhary

Indian Sports News Network