التخطي إلى المحتوى الرئيسي

Spain 5-0 Saudi Arabia: Villa nets comeback goal in thumping friendly win


The forward tucked away a penalty in his first game for his country since returning from a broken leg, but it was his Barcelona team-mate Pedro who stole the show with two goals

Pedro, Spain

Spain warmed up for their opening 2014 World Cup qualifier with a predictably facile 5-0 friendly win over Saudi Arabia on Friday night.

Santi Cazorla opened the scoring and Pedro doubled the home side's advantage soon after. Substitute Xavi netted a third two minutes into the second half before Barcelona team-mate David Villa announced his return to the international arena by converting a penalty shortly after entering the fray.

Pedro then put the seal on an impressive individual display when he tucked away a terrific through-ball from David Silva with 17 minutes remaining.

The reigning world and two-time European champions, who take their first step on the road to Rio against Georgia next week, fielded an experimental starting lineup, with Xavi and Andres Iniesta among those named on the bench. However, La Roja still had far too much class for a game but limited Saudi Arabia side.

Indeed, the only surprise was that it took so long for them to break the deadlock, although that was primarily down to Fernando Torres' wayward finishing, the Chelsea man, who was making his 100th appearances for his country, wasting two fine through-balls inside the opening 10 minutes.

As it was, it was left to another member of Spain's Premier League contingent, Cazorla, to open the scoring, the Arsenal schemer tapping home from close range after Waleed Abdullah could only parry a shot from Pedro.

The latter made no mistake five minutes later, finding the back of the net with a delightful chip just moments after Nasser Al-Shamrani had gone close with a header for the visitors.

Cazorla, who had teed up Pedro for the second, then very nearly conjured a third goal for the home side but his sublime curling effort cruelly came back off the woodwork.

Still, Spain did put the outcome beyond all doubt when Xavi, who had replaced Cesc Fabregas during the interval, found the top corner with a free-kick that saw the ball not only find its way past Abdullah - but also through a hole in the net.

The game now won, La Roja boss decided to make more changes and substitute Villa, who has only just recovered from the horrific leg break he suffered last December, made it 4-0 from the penalty spot, after Sayyaf Al-Beeshi had felled Monreal in the area.

Pedro then heaped further misery on the beleaguered Saudis when he latched onto a defence-splitting pass from David Silva before coolly dinking the ball over Abdullah, putting himself in real contention for a starting berth in Tuesday's Group I clash with Georgia in Tbilisi.

المشاركات الشائعة من هذه المدونة

Brazil struggle to beat 10-man Ghana in friendly

Brazil, with playmaker Ronaldinho back in the side, struggled to beat 10-man Ghana 1-0 in a friendly at Fulham's Craven Cottage ground on Monday.  Leandro Damiao struck the only goal on the stroke of halftime, running on to a defence-splitting ball from Fernandinho and finding the corner of the net from a tight angle.  It was one of the few moments of invention from the former world champions, even with the crafty Ronaldinho returning for his first international appearance since November after showing excellent form for Brazilian title contenders Flamengo.  Ghana never threatened after having defender Daniel Opare sent off in the 32nd minute, a series of over exuberant challenges earning him repeated warnings from Mike Dean before the English referee ran out of patience.  The game started at a furious pace but the red card changed things, with Ghana retreating after halftime in a bid to keep Brazil at bay.  The...

Spain Roundup-Barca promote Cuenca to first team

Brief news from La Liga ahead of this weekend's matches (All times GMT):  * Barcelona have promoted youth team winger Isaac Cuenca to the first team with an improved contract which will tie him until 2015, the European champions said on Friday.  Cuenca, 21, made his debut in the Champions League last October and has made 15 first-team appearances since.  He is likely to get further opportunities starting at Villarreal on Saturday (2100) as Pep Guardiola has David Villa, Ibrahim Afellay, Andreu Fontas, Andres Iniesta and Alexis Sanchez out injured.  * Villarreal, who started the season playing in the Champions League, secured their first win under new coach Jose Molina last weekend but are only kept out of the bottom three by goal difference.  "We have had a tough season so far," defender Gonzalo Rodriguez said. "We need a special performance to help us to believe in ourselves again."  Villarreal have a d...

Islanders acquire Rolston in trade with Devils

New Jersey Devils left wing Brian Rolston The New York Islanders have acquired center Brian Rolston and a conditional draft pick in 2012 from the New Jersey Devils for right wing Trent Hunter, the teams said on Thursday. The 38-year-old Rolston, a 2007 All-Star who has spent the past three seasons with the Devils, collected 14 goals and 34 points in 65 games last season. He played on the Devils' 1995 Stanley Cup winners during a previous stint in New Jersey and has also played with the Colorado Avalanche, Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild during a 16-year career. Four times he scored 30 or more goals. Hunter, 31, who has scored 99 goals in 459 career games with the Islanders, played in only 17 games in 2010-11 with one goal and four points before having season-ending surgery for a torn knee ligament in February.