Monday, February 6th, 2012
Vicente del Bosque has warned Spain’s rivals that his side is determined to “make history” and win the World Cup after his side beat Portugal 1-0 in their last 16 clash.
Once again David Villa has done it for his country scoring the only goal in the game shortly after half time to ensure Portugal are knocked out at Cape Town, and setting a date with Paraguay, where they are heavy favourites to win the game.
Spain were tipped as favourites to win the World Cup which adds to their Euro 2008 triumph, by triumphing once again at South Africa. But they were shock to lose to underdogs Switzerland, by a goal.
However, having responded by securing consecutive victories against Honduras, Chile and now Portugal, Del Bosque is insistent that belief has returned to his talented squad, even if he is keen to ensure Spain remain focused on beating Paraguay.
“We want to make history,” Del Bosque said. “The players are motivated. It’s a long tournament and we are able to do it.
“We are mistaken if we believe that we are already in the semis. We will not win without resolve and concentration.”
Spain took the lead on 63 minutes when Villa collected a sumptuous flick from Xavi and finished past Eduardo at the second attempt. The goal came only four minutes after the disappointing Fernando Torres was replaced by Fernando Llorente, and Del Bosque had words of praise for the Atletico Bilbao striker.
Del Bosque said of Llorente’s performance: “He’s done a great job. The credit belongs to the players, who have proved what they have inside.”
Goalscorer Villa is anticipating a trickier test when Spain face a Paraguay side that defeated Japan on penalties to make their own piece of World Cup history.
“We know what has occurred in previous matches, like against Switzerland. Paraguay will be tougher than Portugal because the side has reached the quarter-finals for the first time,” Villa told AS.
“I am very happy for the win, although we suffered a lot. We deserved to win, so I believe the result is fair. They finished really well and individually have two excellent central defenders, but luckily, we were able to take one of our chances.
“My aim is to keep scoring like this, especially in the big matches, so we can advance through the tournament.
Tags: David Villa, del Bosque, Spain, Spain vs Portugal result