Spain took just 350 seconds to find the net while Group A rivals South Africa and Iraq failed to do so over 90 minutes as the Confederations Cup got off to a mixed start on Sunday.
Liverpool striker Fernando Torres scored a hat-trick within 17 minutes of the kick-off as tournament favorites Spain routed New Zealand 5-0 at a half-full Rustenburg stadium.
A near-capacity 48,000 crowd in Johannesburg saw the hosts create and waste several good scoring chances as ultra-cautious Iraq held out for a 0-0 draw in an event serving as a dress rehearsal for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The result confirmed that European champions Spain are set to steamroll past their three pool opponents and into the semi-finals of a tournament last staged four years ago in Germany and won by Brazil. But who joins them in the knockout phase is far from certain and blunt South Africa could rue their failure to put away the Asian champions in the opening match of the two-week tournament.
African kingpins Egypt were to be the first Group B opponents for Brazil in Bloemfontein yesterday, with World Cup holders Italy facing the US later in Pretoria.
Spain wasted little time getting down to business, forcing a corner on four minutes and Torres scored off a Cesc Fabregas pass soon after to trigger a rout of the All Whites. He curled the ball into the net for his first, sidefooted it home for the second and headed the third before Arsenal midfielder Fabregas was set up by Juan Capdevila for the fourth midway through the opening half.
At this stage the Cup record winning margin of six goals achieved twice by Brazil appeared set to fall, but the Euro 2008 winners managed only one more three minutes into the second half from David Villa as they eased off.
“We did what we had to do, we started with a good rhythm and played good football and were leading 4-0 after 24 minutes. The second half was a question of saving energy for our next match,” Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said.
Torres added: “It was great for the team and for me it is always important to score. I got three so I’m very happy.”
South Africa coach Joel Santana slammed negative Iraq, but when his team did break through they were guilty of a finishing that bodes ill for their chances of making an impression as World Cup hosts.
Strikers Bernard Parker and Terror Fanteni lacked support from an unimaginative midfield and the former blocked a goal-bound Kagisho Dikgacoi header late in the second half.
Substitute Katlego Mashego was another culprit, bursting through soon after his 78th-minute entrance only for goalkeeper Mohammed Kassis to advance bravely and push the ball away.
“Iraq never tried to play football,” complained Santana. “They tried to paralyze the game. We could easily have scored two or three goals. That is football sometimes.”
Widely traveled Iraq coach Bora Milutinovic countered: “It was not easy playing the host nation. We did everything to try and win the game. I’m sorry if you thought it was boring.”
Also See: Bafana have mountain to climb after draw
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
RSS