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  • Villa (36), Llorente (82)
  • Date:2009-02-11
  • Kick-off:21:00
  • Venue:Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, Seville
  • Attendance:42102
  • Referee:Lannoy, S

Live Commentary

90mins

SPAIN 2 - 0 ENGLAND: Still the World's best, Spain are now 29 games unbeaten and they lived up to their pre-game hype. England were less impressive but not bad: just not good enough against a top class side

90mins

The first yellow card has come out, awarded ironically to record-breaker BECKHAM for arguing with the referee

90mins

Llorente appears to have wandered off the pitch, injured, but no sub has been made so Spain are down to ten men

88mins

Excellent chance for Carlton Cole, who was played in behind the Spanish defence by Beckham, took the ball round Reina and found the target from a tight angle but Marchena was there to block the shot on the goal line

87mins

Some quick footwork by Johnson on the right wins a free-kick which Crouch almost beat Reina to, but the keeper grabbed the ball at the second attempt

85mins

Daniel Guiza will replace Xavi for Spain, giving the Barcelona man a rest after a stellar performance

84mins

England really didn't show enough urgency when they were a single goal down and now they don't have a lot to play for

82mins

SPAIN 2 - 0 ENGLAND: Out of nothing Spain have pulled clear of England through LLORENTE. Xavi hit a hopeful free-kick into the England box and Llorente found enough space eight yards out to power a header past Green

81mins

Good work from Beckham kept possession for England and allowed Lampard to be played into space on the right but his cross was behind Carlton Cole and the West Ham striker miss-hit the shot well over the bar

79mins

Arbeloa is down for Spain after a heavy challenge from Beckham and the Liverpool full-back will need some treatment on his right ankle

77mins

England were not able to fully use Agbonlahor's pace tonight so perhaps Cole's added strength will cause more problems for Spain

75mins

Carlton Cole will replace Gabriel Agbonlahor for England, a straight swap in attack

75mins

Raul Albiol will be replaced in defence by Carlos Marchena

74mins

Crouch and Agbonlahor combine well for the first time, the Aston Villa forward receiving a knock-down and clipping a ball in which Lampard headed at goal, but Reina was well placed to make an easy save

72mins

A classic, 60 yard cross-field pass from Beckham found Wright-Phillips on the left and the Man City winger cut inside and tried to curl a shot around Reina but the effort was weak and straight at Liverpool's number one

70mins

Arbeloa and Iniesta work themselves into space on the left wing but Silva can't control the pass into him and they can't get a good shot away

68mins

Some pressure down the left wins a throw which finds its way to Beckham, who in turn fires a pass into Crouch 30 yards out but his touch lets him down and Spain clear

66mins

Llorente is a more physical prospect, which should please Terry and Upson after the slipperly Torres

64mins

Fernando Torres Llorente replaces his (almost) namesake, Torres, who has looked fit and healthy - much to the delight of Liverpool fans everywhere

63mins

Xavi continues to be utterly dominant in midfield, finding an insisive pass everytime he receives the ball

62mins

A first shot on goal for Crouch - a weak, looping header from 15 yards which Reina caught with ease

61mins

Iniesta nutmegs Terry and wins a free-kick which Spain knock around well before Xavi found Torres in the box, but the Liverpool striker was well tackled by Upson after he'd left Terry for dead

60mins

A rare poor cross from Beckham ends a promising English attack, but in general the away side are struggling for ideas going forward

58mins

Silva looks to be playing deeper than Villa, leaving Torres to lead the attack. Already England are finding it hard to pass through the five-man midfield

56mins

David Silva is replacing his strike partner at Valencia, David Villa

56mins

Spain are playing like a team with a lead, playing it around slowly, but a good break by Wright-Phillips on the left almost left them exposed

54mins

Torres almost found space behind Terry but his run began a touch offside, spotted by the assistant referee

52mins

England are certainly looking like a team that has made five changes, passes are going astray and gaps are being left. Spain will want to exploit this before England clean up

50mins

Good early work from Lampard in his own half, sweeping up in defence, but Johnson lost the ball and Xavi found Ramos on the right but Wright-Phillips' tackle stopped him at the expense of a corner

49mins

Spain look as they were in the first half but England have switched Wright-Phillips to the left and are likely to push Lampard further up the pitch than Barry was

47mins

An early free-kick is whipped in from the right by Beckham forcing Renia into his first save - a sloppy punch clear

46mins

SPAIN 1 - 0 ENGLAND: With both teams making changes it'll be interesting to see how this warms up

46mins

Jose Manuel Reina and Alvaro Arbeloa are on for Spain, with Casillas and Cazorla going off

46mins

David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Peter Crouch, Mathew Upson and Robert Green have come on at half time for Downing, Heskey, Barry, Jagielka and James

45mins

SPAIN 1 - 0 ENGLAND: After a good start England have been shown up by the World's best team, who have ended the first half in complete control

44mins

England have become more reserved as the game has gone on, a reflection of the impact Spain's skillful play has had on them

42mins

A couple of good Spanish efforts, first from Villa who had been found by a clever pull-back from Iniesta, then Alonso who hit Villa's rebound hard but wide of James' right hand post

41mins

Good work from Heskey down the right, after a clever, quick throw from Wright-Phillips, earnt space for a cross that almost found Agbonlahor at the back post

39mins

Senna tries his luck from 25 yards and had James beaten, but his swerving effort was a foot too high

37mins

Moments later Heskey was found by a back-post Downing cross but the Aston Villa man was stretching and couldn't find the target with his head

36mins

SPAIN 1 - 0 ENGLAND: Brilliant goal from VILLA, who had a ball played into his feet on the edge of the box and, with Jagielka and Terry on his hip, turned them both in an instance before slotting past James

35mins

A Heskey flick-on almost found Agbonlahor in space behind the Spanish defence but play was brought back for a foul by the English targetman

33mins

Some magic from Wright-Phillips, whose quick footwork was too much for Capdevila and Pique, earns a free-kick just outside the Spain box but Downing's shot hit the wall

31mins

Excellent football by Spain almost found a way past James. Xavi made space for himself, played the ball into Villa who flicked the ball to Torres on the edge of the box, but his shot was blocked and claimed by James at the second attempt

29mins

A one-two between Villa and Andres Iniesta almost finds a way into the English box but the return from Iniesta was slightly wayward and England clear

27mins

Heskey continues his one man mission to win the game by being fouled, winning one off Raul Albiol this time, but the set piece was embarrassing as Spain stepped up, leaving seven Englishmen offside

26mins

Spain find the back of the net but Villa, played through by Xavi, was well offside and it won't count

25mins

England get forward for the first time in 10 minutes through Stewart Downing, but his pass to Heskey is poor and earns only a throw

23mins

Great skill from Xavi, who skipped through two tackles just outside the England box, but to no avail as Villa took the ball from him and promptly gave it away

22mins

The full-back Joan Capdevila struck it but only found the wall and England were able to clear

21mins

A foul by Ashley Cole, 30 yards out in a central position, will give one of the Spaniards a shooting chance

20mins

Spain are on the offensive now, targeting the left flank where Villa cut inside, shaped to shoot but instead laid a pass off to Senna whose 25-yard effort was easy for James

18mins

Another good chance for Villa, who made an excellent diagonal run into the box, but his shot was under pressure and from a tight angle and David James made a comfortable save

17mins

Spain do better this time, firing a ball into the box that hit a deflection and found Villa, whose shot was blocked and Torres hit the rebound which was also deflected, this time over the bar

16mins

Spain have kept up their steady, passing game despite the England pressure, but they don't look dangerous yet

14mins

Gerard Pique just survived what would have been a certain red card when he pulled back Heskey, who had charged into the Spain box, but the striker was ruled offside

12mins

Another foul by Marcos Senna, his second in the opening few minutes, gave England another chance to create havoc in the Spanish penalty box but the set-piece was poor and nothing came of it

10mins

Good work between Agbonlahor and Shaun Wright-Phillips almost allowed the winger to play in Barry but his pass was behind the Villa midfielder and his rushed cross was comfortably headed behind

8mins

England appear to have been enthused by that chance as a long free-kick from Terry found Emile Heskey in the box but the marking was tight and the Aston Villa forward couldn't hold onto the ball

6mins

The first real chance falls to England and Gabriel Agbonlahor, who was found by a low Gareth Barry cross from the left, but the young forward's first-time shot missed the left side post by just a few inches

4mins

A good looking move appeared to have fallen away after Villa gave the ball to Glen Johnson, but the right-back returned the favor and only a loose Torres ball stopped Spain getting a good shooting chance

3mins

Torres almost flicked his way through the English back line but John Terry held firm and legally blocked his passage

2mins

England press Spain deep early on but the home side take control at the back, playing it around well

1mins

The match between the World's first and eighth ranked teams is underway

0mins

Plenty of talking points regardless of the players: the decision of Vicente del Bosque to play his stars despite warnings from their managers, Spain's 23-match unbeaten run and the racist chanting that marred England's last visit to Spain

0mins

The European Champions have the stronger starting eleven on paper, with a first-choice midfield and attack including Xabi Alonso, Xavi, Fernando Torres and David Villa. Gerard Pique makes his debut in defence

0mins

Shaun Wright-Phillips will fill Becks' right sided role, while the other surprises are Phil Jagielka starting at centre-back and an all-Aston Villa forward line of Emile Heskey and Gabriel Agbonlahor

0mins

The teams news from Seville starts, of course, with David Beckham, who will have to come in off the bench to earn his 108th cap - tying him with Bobby Moore for most England appearances as an outfield player


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Match Report

Spain lived up to their billing as the best side in world football, waltzing past England as they extended their unbeaten run to 29 games.

England had looked the better side in the opening 15 minutes, with Emile Heskey in particular imposing himself on a Spanish defence that was without its preferred central pairing.

With outfield leader Carles Puyol injured and fellow centre-back Carlos Marchena rested, Gerard Pique was given his first cap and Raul Albiol was picked alongside him.

The inexperienced pair were successfully targeted by England early on, with Gabriel Agbonlahor the recipient of the best chance - a first-time shot from a Gareth Barry cross that whistled just wide with Iker Casillas beaten.

Yet Heskey arguably went closer to scoring after 14 minutes when he ran in behind Pique who hauled him back on the edge of the box.

A red card and a free-kick or penalty would have been the expected outcome but the referee's assistant came to Pique's rescue, wrongly flagging for offside.

Unfortunately for England that warning was what Spain needed to open up. Two minutes later Fernando Torres and David Villa both had good chances blocked before Villa shot straight at David James from inside the box.

Their dominance continued, with Villa netting after 26 minutes only to see it ruled out for offside, before finally they were rewarded with a goal.

In the 36th minute Villa had a ball played into his feet on the edge of the box and, with Phil Jagielka and John Terry on his hip, turned them both in an instant before slotting his shot past James.

A back-post Heskey header less than a minute later gave hope that England would respond well to going behind but it was the last good chance the away side would get until the 88th minute.

David Beckham's appearance for the second half, allowing him to move level with Bobby Moore as the most capped England outfield player, sparked some interest but it was Spain's match.

The reigning European Champions cruised through the second half without either threatening or being threatened, although they were able to snatch a second goal to put the game away.

Xavi, at the heart of everything for Spain, hit a hopeful free-kick into the England box and Fernando Llorente found enough space behind Matthew Upson to power a header past Robert Green.

Only a late chance for Carlton Cole offered hope, when he was played in behind the Spanish defence by Beckham, took the ball round Pepe Reina and found the target from a tight angle but Marchena was there to block the shot on the goal-line.

Manager Fabio Capello can take relief from the fact that his team were beaten by the best, but he will have hoped for more from an England side that have looked more clinical since the Italian took over last winter.

Spain

England

Corners

41

Fouls

1619

Goal attempts

148

Shots off target

104

Offsides

32

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