Brazil 2014: Spain Ends Brazil Experience with 3-0 Win over Australia
By Opeyemi Oladunjoye
Spain ended their World cup campaign with a wonderful goal from their record marksman, David Villa and a 3-0 win over Australia in Curitiba.
The 32-year-old had announced before the tournament that he will quit international football following Brazil 2014. Fernando Torres and Juan Mata were also on target to ensure Vicente Del Bosque’s men finished third in Group B, leaving Ange Postecoglou’s Socceroos bottom.
A match in which both sides had nothing but pride to play for began at a slow pace. The contest came to life after the half-hour mark when Andres Iniesta slid a pass behind the Socceroos defence for Juanfran to run on to. The Atletico Madrid right-back cleverly cut the ball towards an unmarked Villa who flicked it past Australia’s Ryan and into the back of the net with his right heel.
The second half started at a quicker pace than the first, but the sides struggled to carve out a meaningful opportunity until the 69th minute when Iniesta opened the Aussie backline with a through-pass, and Torres took it in his stride and slotted past Ryan for his first World Cup goal since Germany 2006.
Mark Bresciano, the 34-year-old Socceroos icon who was deemed unfit to start, got a great reception when he came on for what will surely be his last World Cup game, but it was the spanish fans who were cheering on 82 minutes when Cesc Fabregas chipped the ball into Mata, who scored to make it 3-0.