Friday 27 June 2008

Spain 3 - 0 Russia

It was great to see Spain play like they can for the first time since they last beat Russia.

I've been supporting Spain all tournament, largely thanks to Sky Sports kindly sending me two (!!) free 'I'm supporting Spain this summer' t-shirts. Hype about first Holland and then Russia means that Spain haven't been too much in the spotlight and have, like Germany, quietly played their way to the final.

But they were really good this evening. It was so satisfying to see Cesc play such a significant role. I feared we wouldn't see him, but Villa's injury meant he got almost an hour of football, in which he turned the game for Spain. It also reminded me how much I love him and why Arsenal are my favourite Big Four side.

It wasn't just about Cesc though; Xavi, Silva and Iniesta were all magical. Any loss from not seeing Arshavin, Zyryanov and others at their best was more than off-set by the form of the Spaniards. And at right back, Sergio 'CorlukaPlus' Ramos, showed Anyukov what being a world class attacking right back means.

I know who I'm supporting in the final.

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