Those who came in expecting a bonanza of attacking play would’ve been disappointed, but Spain won’t care as they took another step toward a third straight major championship.
Spain 2 – France 0
– Spain reminded
the world of their danger. The first half was the finest stretch of
play in the tournament from the defending champions. Their short-passing, slow
build-up style can (and did in the group stages) become tedious and
unimaginative at times. But when it is on, there is no better side in the world
to watch. It was undoubtedly on for the first 30 minutes on Saturday night,
oozing with threat and ultimately culminating in the vital first goal. In
truth, the life slowly sapped out of this match in the second half, but the
opening frame hinted that Spain still has plenty to say about the results of
this tournament.
– This was Jordi
Alba’s coming out party. The 21-year-old left back
maintained a perfect harmony between defense and attack. France was forced to
build from the middle instead of their preferred wings, and Alba’s runs forward
provided the Spanish attack with more width and opened passing lanes. Alba put
the exclamation point on his performance by setting up Spain’s first goal,
finding Xavi Alonso at the back point with a brilliantly conceived cross. The
defender is nearing a move from Valencia to hometown club Barcelona, so expect
to be hearing plenty from him in the future.
– France ran into a
bad matchup. The French may have been poor as a unit, but it is hard
to point out any individual player that struggled. In truth, Les Blues just ran
into a better side, one that exploited French weaknesses. There is no denying
France’s talent going forward, but most of their attackers require early
touches to get into the flow of the game. Spain’s keep-away passing meant that
their opponents never found their rhythm.
