New Zealand 0-5 Spain; The El Niño Show!

We gave all South Africans something to be excited about after their side was held to a stalemate with Iraq in what was an extremely boring match. We however pulled off as expected, an emphatic victory over the Oceanic champions from New Zealand.

The match was over after 17 minutes as El Niño scored a treble which put us in cruise control for the rest of the match. Although Torres may have been the obvious star of the show, fútbol is a team sport and as a collective, we were simply too good.

New Zealand played a strange, narrow formation which allowed us to dominate possession on the flanks and since we have the best central midfielders in all of Europe, we also passed around with the greatest of ease like it was a training drill.

We absolutely controlled the match right from the get-go and on the 6th minute we were rewarded when Fàbregas passed off to Fernando Torres standing outside the 18 yard box who eventually turned around and curled a perfect shot into the top left corner – a perfect way to start the massacre.

It only took 7 minutes for El Niño to double his tally when Riera crossed in for David Villa who then passed off to Torres and it was all easy from there. Perfect finish in the bottom right corner out of reach of the Kiwi’s keeper. On the 17th minute the treble was complete when Joan Capdevila put in a pin-point cross which Torres executed like a true striker. He smashed his header in the top left corner leaving the keeper motionless.

Riera and Capdevila continued to dominate the left flank as they this time worked their magic and eventually got it in the centre to Fàbregas who tapped it in to further emphasize our superiority.

Casillas didn’t only stand around the whole match (although it probably seemed that way for him) as just before half time New Zealand has a free kick which resulted in Casillas being forced to make a somewhat tricky save.

Right after half time, things stayed much the same as we continued to exploit New Zealand’s defensive weaknesses. Torres this time worked hard to progress up the left flank but ended up putting in a pitiful cross which Kiwi’s defender Andrew Boyens totally miscued and luckily for us and unluckily for them, El Guaje, David Villa was there to slot in one of the easiest chances he’ll ever have.

From there it was all downhill as we easily closed up shop. We didn’t add any more to our already emphatic tally but we didn’t really need to as we continued to keep possession and have fun. Torres was replaced by David Silva as were Xavi and Sergio Ramos by Santi Cazorla and Álvaro Arbeloa respectively. Del Bosque was clearly looking to rest some of our key players as they weren’t really needed against a very flat and dull New Zealand side.

The game ended 5-0 and although it could have easily been way more, I’m sure all Spanish fans are extremely happy with our convincing display. I was a bit worried going in about our complacency and our fear of maintaining that amazing unbeaten streak but we’ve now stretched it to a massive 33 matches.

Top and Flop of the Night

Before the match here in Canada they were doing a little pre-game interview and documentary on Fernando Torres and how impressive he has been throughout the past year and I thought to myself, “Damn, are these Canadians really that stupid? Torres is pretty useless for the national team more times than not. Do one about Xavi or Villa instead”. It’s funny how he hands down gets my vote along with probably many others as the man of the match. His absolutely complete performance from goal one to goal three and everything in between was the Fernando Torres I know and love, but haven’t see much of. He was an all around class act and single handedly destroyed New Zealand. If he can keep it up we’ll easily have our hands on the Confederations Cup! Also a big shout-out to El Niño for getting the fastest ever hat-trick in Confederations Cup history, well done Fernando.

Xavi on the other hand was pretty invisible throughout the match. I’m not sure whether it was the fact that he was employed on the right wing which is obviously not his position or if it was that New Zealand was so bad that he didn’t need to be his normal, amazing-self to have an impact on the match. I’m not concerned too much as I know he can definitely turn the heat on when necessary but it was a bit un-characteristic of him to have that little impact on a match.

We now focus on Asian champions Iraq as we play them Wednesday in a match which if we win, we automatically are secured a spot in the semi-finals. Iraq are certainly no pushovers but at the same time they’re certainly no threat to La Furia Roja either.

Group B News

Today Brazil just about squeaked past Egypt as Kaká scored a penalty in the last minute. Brazil’s obvious defensive weaknesses were exploited as the African champions gave the Five-time world champions a run for their money. Not to mention the Egyptians were playing a man down when the penalty was given leading me to further wonder just how weak Brazil is. Obviously you can never write off Brazil under any circumstances, that’s pure insanity, but they’re definitely not convincing.

In the other match today, Italy easily brushed aside the USA (as if there was ever any doubt), in a match which was way easier than the scoreline suggested. The massive gulf in class between UEFA and CONCACAF was clearly evident as the defending World Cup Champions went for a stroll and easily came out on top. Rossi seemed to be the name of the day as both “Rossi’s” scored all three goals for the Azzurri.

Overall, neither Italy nor Brazil looked strong enough to match our grasp on world football at the moment. No doubt they’re both solid sides but neither had that “convincing” factor when they played. We absolutely dominate from start to finish and I can’t name another side in the world at the moment who can say the same.

This thrashing of New Zealand is just the beginning to our domination of world football.

¡Qué Viva España!

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