The final last 16 tie played at the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, was being touted as arguably the best of the World Cup 2010 so far. Spain, the 2008 European Champions, battled with Portugal, ranked at No. 3 in the FIFA rankings and regarded as favourites by many.
The early minutes of the game saw Spain dominate the possession with Portugal making their intentions clear – sit back and hit the Spaniards on the break.
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Portugal’s first major chance of the game came in the 17th minute as they won a free kick in a dangerous position. However, captain Cristiano Ronaldo decided to take a rather selfish stand, shoeing Simao aside to take the opportunity. Real Madrid’s record signing ended up bouncing a tame shot into Iker Casillas’ arms from about 30 yards out.
Vicente del Bosque’s side was then on the receiving end of some fine Portuguese attacks but the opening half saw some more wasteful play from Ronaldo, who elected to go for glory in the 23rd minute, taking a shot from way out only to hit it desolately wide.
Spain did have their chances, but the biggest opportunity of the half went Portugal’s way in the 39th minute as Meireles whipped a fabulous cross into the box to find Almeida with a free header. But, the Werder Bremen hitman wasted the chance, with a harmless glance wide of the far post.
The score remained goalless at half with both sides playing tight football. Spain pressed early on with terrific fluency, but Portugal too got into their stride and tested a seemingly uncomfortable Casillas. It was making for an increasingly frustrating spectacle with a decision on penalties was on the cards.
Half Time – Spain 0-0 Portugal
Portugal got the ball rolling for the second half and if the opening minutes were anything to go by, neither team looked to have decided to approach the game any differently.
Spain continued to struggle for any momentum as the game moved on. Del Bosque’s team needed to find some spark to up the ante and in a bid to do just that, the Spain boss brought on Llorente for a disappointing Fernando Torres in the 59th minute. Not wanting to be out gunned tonight, Portugal replaced Almeida with Danny up-front.
Then came the defining moment. Portugal wilted under pressure and in-form striker David Villa made them pay. Assisted by Xavi, Villa’s frst attempt was blocked by the Portuguese shot-stopper, Eduardo, but he made no mistake on the rebound, sending the ball into the back of the net in the 63rd minute. Spain 1-0 Portugal
Portugal were seemingly shell-shocked by the goal, and found it hard to snap out of it, as Spain kept prodding in their half for a second. And, Sergio Ramos almost made it 2-0 soon after as he shot a low ball towards the left corner, only to be denied by Eduardo.
Portugal boss Carlos Queiroz used up his remaining substitutes in the 72nd minute, bringing on Pedro Mendes and Liedson for Pepe and Simao. Meanwhile, Ronaldo continued to look like a shadow of himself, struggling to make an impact on the crunch encounter.
Xabi Alonso left his mark on the game. However, it wasn’t a desirable one. The midfielder brought down Mendes in the 75th minute, and picked up Spain’s first yellow card of this edition of the World Cup.
Spain then started doing what they are masters of – keeping the possession. And, whenever Portugal got a chance to attack, the Spanish defenders did their job well.
Goal-scorer Villa was substituted in the 88th minute, to make way for Pedro. Portugal’s poor outing got worse in the very next minute with Ricardo Costa getting sent off for flicking out an elbow at Capdevila.
1-0 was how it would end and Spain would now face Paraguay in what should be an intriguing quarter-final clash.
