Defending Champion-Spain redeems image, defeats Australia 3-0
Spain bid farewell to Brazil 2014 and its reign atop the soccer world with a magisterial 3-0 victory over Australia.
The match meant nothing, as
both teams entered with 0-2 records and no chance to advance. But the
Spaniards, dressed aptly all in black, said a memorable goodbye with
three lovely goals.
David Villa scored in the
36th minute, taking a centering pass from Juanfran and exquisitely
backheeled it into the net. After scoring, he kissed the Spain crest on
his shirt in what was probably his final international match.
In the 69th minute, another
mainstay of Spain’s championship years, Fernando Torres, slotted home a
shot when Andres Iniesta found him with a perfectly weighted pass into
the area. Iniesta, playing his 100th match for Spain, also started the
play that led to Villa’s goal.
In the 82nd minute, Juan
Mata was left wide open six yards from goal to receive Cesc Fabregas’s
searching pass. He knocked the ball softly through the legs of
Australia’s goalkeeper, Matthew Ryan, who had little chance on any of
the goals.
The Spaniards will now go
home, but they have another throne to defend: They are the two-time
defending champions of Europe. Their defense begins anew in September,
as the qualifying campaign for France 2016 begins.
Netherlands top group B after 2-0 win over Chile
Leroy Fer’s second half header and a late
strike from Memphis Depay fired the Netherlands to a third consecutive
World Cup win following a hard-fought 2-0 victory against Chile.
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