Spain's passing and pressure was too much for Germany, and Carles Puyol’s header off a Xavi corner kick eventually led Spain to a 1-0 victory in the 2010 FIFA World Cup semifinals.
Spain now advanced to the World Cup Finals for the first time in their nation's history, where they will face Holland on Sunday.
Zonal marking reports on how Spain pushed Germany back into their own half of the field for most of the match, and dictated the pace and tempo of the match.
Iniesta coming inside to create a numerical advantage for Spain in midfield also worked predictably well when they had the ball. A key method of getting the ball forward was to bring Iniesta in to create the 4 v 3, therefore forcing one of the Germany wingers into the centre of the pitch to try to relieve the shortfall. In turn, this created space for Joan Capdevila and Sergio Ramos, who would storm forward into dangerous positions. Ramos did this particularly well, and Podolski spent much of the game on defensive duty, rather than running towards Spain’s goal.
Despite Spain passing well, they weren’t creating a great amount of chances. Villa had his quietest game of the competition so far, closely marshalled by the two German centre-backs. They practically doubled up on him, denying him space to turn, for they weren’t too worried about the threat of runs in behind from other players, as Spain generally only got a maximum of three players into dangerous positions. The full-backs dealt with the other two.
Germany looked happy to accept Spain having the majority of possession, but the German counter-attacks weren’t forthcoming. Their wide players were in defensive positions, whilst Busquets and Alonso broke up attacks high up the pitch, meaning Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol were rarely threatened by Klose.
This general pattern of play continued after half-time, although the game opened up slightly and there were more shots on goal. Most of came from Spain – long-range efforts from Pedro and Alonso, and a cross smashed across the six-yard box that David Villa nearly converted. But the best chance at 0-0 fell to Germany, and Kroos. It was a move reminiscent of Germany’s final three goals against Argentina – Oezil moved to the left to overload Spain on the flank, he slipped the ball to Podolski, whose cross found Kroos. His volley was hit into the floor, and was a reasonably easy save for Casillas.
Spain now advanced to the World Cup Finals for the first time in their nation's history, where they will face Holland on Sunday.
Zonal marking reports on how Spain pushed Germany back into their own half of the field for most of the match, and dictated the pace and tempo of the match.
Iniesta coming inside to create a numerical advantage for Spain in midfield also worked predictably well when they had the ball. A key method of getting the ball forward was to bring Iniesta in to create the 4 v 3, therefore forcing one of the Germany wingers into the centre of the pitch to try to relieve the shortfall. In turn, this created space for Joan Capdevila and Sergio Ramos, who would storm forward into dangerous positions. Ramos did this particularly well, and Podolski spent much of the game on defensive duty, rather than running towards Spain’s goal.
Despite Spain passing well, they weren’t creating a great amount of chances. Villa had his quietest game of the competition so far, closely marshalled by the two German centre-backs. They practically doubled up on him, denying him space to turn, for they weren’t too worried about the threat of runs in behind from other players, as Spain generally only got a maximum of three players into dangerous positions. The full-backs dealt with the other two.
Germany looked happy to accept Spain having the majority of possession, but the German counter-attacks weren’t forthcoming. Their wide players were in defensive positions, whilst Busquets and Alonso broke up attacks high up the pitch, meaning Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol were rarely threatened by Klose.
This general pattern of play continued after half-time, although the game opened up slightly and there were more shots on goal. Most of came from Spain – long-range efforts from Pedro and Alonso, and a cross smashed across the six-yard box that David Villa nearly converted. But the best chance at 0-0 fell to Germany, and Kroos. It was a move reminiscent of Germany’s final three goals against Argentina – Oezil moved to the left to overload Spain on the flank, he slipped the ball to Podolski, whose cross found Kroos. His volley was hit into the floor, and was a reasonably easy save for Casillas.
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