eighth day in euro 2008

[steaner]

Last-gasp Villa shatters Sweden


A stoppage-time winner from David Villa gave Spain a dramatic 2-1 win over Sweden in their Euro 2008 Group D encounter in Innsbruck.
Sweden 1-2 SpainVilla finished coolly in the 92nd minute after latching on to a long ball from Joan Capdevila, the Valencia man's fourth goal of the tournament.
It gave Spain three points that ensured a place in the quarter-finals after a sub-par team performance.
Fernando Torres opened the scoring on 15 minutes with a close-range effort before Zlatan Ibrahimovic equalised just after the half-hour with a low strike.
Spain never found the same amount of time and space they had in their 4-1 demolition of Russia on Tuesday, and looked set to be held until Villa's last-gasp heroics.
Sweden manager Lars Lagerback made two injury-enforced changes down the right flank. Fredrik Stoor came in for full-back Niclas Alexandersson, while Johan Elmander - nominally a striker - came into midfield for Christian Wilhelmsson.
Spain's Luis Aragones resisted calls to bring Cesc Fabregas into his starting XI, sticking with the quartet that tore Russia to shreds - David Silva, Marcos Senna, Xavi and Andres Iniesta.
The unchanged Spaniards did not appear to miss the Arsenal man, as they immediately seized the ball for long spells.
Spain's swashbuckling style is personified by the ultra-attacking right-back Sergio Ramos - improbably a central defender at club level.
On one occasion the Real Madrid man marauded down the wing, gave a pass and headed straight for the Swedish box.
Consequently he was horribly out of position when Sweden counter-attacked, but Fredrik Ljungberg's low shot was weak and straight at Iker Casillas.
Despite dominating possession and territory, Spain found Sweden tough break down and did not have a meaningful chance until the 15th minute when Torres found the net from a well-worked corner.
The ball was played short to Capdevila who drove a pacy, diagonal left-foot cross that Torres diverted past the wrong-footed Andreas Isaksson and in off the left-hand post.

Within 60 seconds Sweden should have been level after Spain switched off at the back. Henrik Larsson played a neat ball for the onrushing Elmander, who sliced his shot into the side netting with the goal gaping.
Spain were presented with an injury problem when Carles Puyol went off during the first half, to be replaced by Valencia's Raul Albiol. A major blow if the Barcelona skipper does not recover.
Ibrahimovic lit up a pedestrian Swedish display with a stunning goal against Greece and did a similar job in Innsbruck, albeit in less spectacular style.
His chance appeared to have passed when he failed to unleash a first-time shot from Stoor's diagonal cross from the right.
But, with his back to goal, he turned Ramos and fired a low shot that Casillas got a hand to but could not keep out.
His job seemingly done, Ibrahimovic was withdrawn at the break with Sweden keen not to aggravate the Internazionale striker's troublesome knee.
Spain should have had a penalty in first-half stoppage time when Elmander barged Silva in the box but referee Pieter Vink saw no infringement.
Although they were entitled to feel hard-done-by, the men in red were lucky to escape sanction after surrounding the official at the end of the half.
If any player could be described as "typically Spanish" it is Silva. The Valencia man boasts superb skill and technique, but lacks killer instinct.
On 49 minutes Villa presented him with a good shooting opportunity but Silva inexplicably opted to play a return pass.
Later Villa supplied him again, and he rolled a weak shot that gave Isaksson a chance to save he should never have had. Torres saw his follow-up shot blocked.

Aragones brought on Fabregas and Santi Cazorla before the hour mark, with Xavi and Iniesta making way, but they could do little to enliven the latter part of the game.
With the game seemingly petering out to a draw, Capdevila launched a long ball downfield that Sweden inexplicably failed to deal with.
Villa latched on to the ball, nicked it through the legs of Petter Hansson and shot low into the right corner of the net to send Spain into raptures.

Russia topple holders Greece

Holders Greece were knocked out of Euro 2008 after a thrilling 1-0 defeat against Russia in Salzburg

Champions in Portugal four years ago, Otto Rehhagel's side cannot reach the quarter-finals whatever the result of their remaining Group D game against Spain, who have already qualified. Russia must beat Sweden in their final game to reach the last eight.
Konstantin Zyrianov's first-half strike from close range proved decisive, although both sides missed numerous opportunities in an unexpectedly captivating encounter.

It was billed as a match between the two worst teams at Euro 2008, and a criminally dull way to spend two hours of Saturday night.
Instead, Greece and Russia put on one of the most entertaining matches of the tournament so far, particularly in a frantic second half in which both sides created - and spurned - a host of chances.
The holders finally came out of their ultra-defensive shell as Rehhagel switched to an adventurous 3-4-3 formation - albeit too late to stay in the competition.
Russia played technically-excellent football, driven on by their wonderful left wing-back Yuri Zhirkov - constantly leaving gaps at the back on which their opponents could not capitalise.
Greece coach Rehhagel scrapped his dreaded five-man defence and brought in Christos Patsatzoglou, Nikos Liberopoulos, and Yannis Amanatidis at the expense of Giorgios Karagounis, Paraskevas Antzas and Fanis Gekas.

Guus Hiddink changed two players from the side that was humbled 4-1 by Spain, as Sergei Ignashevich and Dmitry Torbinsky came in for Roman Shirokov and Dmitry Sychev.
Clad all in red, Russia showed more initiative from the outset, particularly from Zhirkov, who did a passable impression of Roberto Carlos with his penetrating runs and complete neglect of defensive duties.
It mattered little that Zhirkov spent the game in the opposition half; whenever Greece did attack it was through a long ball down the middle to Angelos Charisteas or from a set-piece.
The Greek hero at Euro 2004 was guilty of a shocking miss on 20 minutes when he was left unmarked for an inswinging Angelos Basinas free-kick, yet somehow failed to divert the ball in when a goal looked like the only possible outcome.
The vastly experienced Antonis Nikopolidis made an uncharacteristic error for the goal on 33 minutes.

He chased a deep cross from the left by Dmitri Torbinski but was beaten to the ball by Sergei Semak, who hooked it across the face of goal to present Zyrianov with a simple finish.
Greece were forced to attack, and the resultant change of attitude produced a second period of rip-roaring entertainment.
Charisteas kicked things off with another glaring miss - this time lobbing tamely at Igor Akinfeev after collecting a pass from substitute Giorgos Karagounis.

Both sides produced shots with greater frequency than accuracy. Roman Pavlyuchenko and Karagounis produced 10 between them - the Russian missing an absolute gift to make the game safe in stoppage time.
Basinas was guilty of a similarly glaring miss for Greece, leaning back and firing his left-foot shot over the top on 55 minutes.
While Greece came close on several occasions, Russia should have won by a more comfortable margin.
Aside from the misfiring Pavlyuchenko, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov had four attempts without forcing Nikopolidis into action, while Zhrikov and Igor Semshov also went close.