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2010 World Cup: Spain 2-0 Honduras – Report

Angela Asante, June 21 2010,
A wasteful Spanish side did just enough to get their 2010 World Cup campaign back on track as they defeated Honduras 2-0 thanks to David Villa’s brace. The Barcelona man missed a 63rd minute penalty only to emphasize how anxious and inefficient the 2008 European Champions were on the night.

Spain's David Villa celebrating.
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Spain vs Honduras, First Half: Prolific Striker David Villa Puts Spain Ahead

In the early stages of the game, both teams appeared to have equal opportunities to make their mark through counter-attacking situations. The first genuine attempt on goal, however, fell to Spain inside the 5th minute. David Villa lobbed the ball onto Liverpool’s number 9 Fernando Torres. But the striker, who endured a plagued season in England ahead of the 2010 World Cup, failed to place the ball at the back of the net.

A minute later, Spain’s Red Fury almost blew Los Catrachos away as David Villa fired a long range shot that could only bounce off the crossbar at the disappointment of the Barcelona player. Inside the 8th minute, Sergio Ramos demanded a penalty after being pushed in the box. However, the defender didn’t impress the Asian referee who waved for play to continue normally.

 

Ramos could have avenged himself moments later when through a header from a corner but he failed to direct his ball across the goal line. In general, Spain had a host of chances in front of goal but somehow, they squandered them all until David Villa found the breakthrough at the 17th minute with a trademark run and an exquisite shot that beat Honduras’ goalkeeper Valladares.

This goal was enough to send the 2009 Confederations Cup bronze medalists into the lead at half time. Fernando Torres and Xavi were therefore saved from their blushes following their failure to convert easy chances into goals during the first period.

Spain vs Honduras, Second Half: Plenty Open Chances, But Only One More Goal

Instead of adopting the defensive tactic that helped Switzerland stun Spain, Honduras opted to recover from their 1-goal deficit. They chose to play an offensive game plan as soon as the second period kicked off. They immediately got punished by David Villa who banged his second goal of the match through a beautiful volley.

Honduras never came close to staging a comeback from there, but the surprising thing is that they didn’t concede any more goals despite being dominated by Spain. As the Spanish were awarded a penalty three minutes after the hour mark, David Villa was given the glorious opportunity of going down in the history of this 2010 World Cup tournament as the second player after Argentina’s Gonzalo Higuain to score a hat-trick. Although Valladares went the wrong way, Villa missed his spot kick as he sent his low shot off target.

Frustration spread among the Spanish players who were looking to increase their tally as goal difference could prove crucial after Match-day Three. Cesc Fabregas entered into the game in the 65th minute and had the task of scoring Spain’s third goal as he beat both Honduras’ offside trap and goalkeeper. But Fabregas’ slow shot got cleared off the line. A host of opportunities followed this one, but none of them were taken.

Spain closed the night with a victory which was far from being convincing. With their 2-0 defeat, Honduras are almost out of the 2010 World Cup as they have no point and a (-3) goal difference. Next, Los Catrachos will come up against Switzerland who lost 1-0 to Chile earlier on Monday. Meanwhile, La Furia Roja will try to beat Round of 16 ticketholders Chile to join them into the second round.

 

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