Villa: Germany won't fancy playing Spain
Reuters - Saturday 03 July 2010, 23:19
JOHANNESBURG - Germany will not be happy
to face Spain in the World Cup semi-finals after the European
champions edged past a valiant Paraguay 1-0 on Saturday to
reach the last four, according to Spanish goal hero David
Villa.
Villa's 83rd-minute strike against the South Americans, his
fifth of the tournament in South Africa, set up a repeat of the
Euro 2008 final in Vienna when Spain beat Germany 1-0 with a
goal from Fernando Torres.
"We have time now to put the work in to get to the final
and Germany will not be pleased that they have to play Spain,"
Villa told reporters at Ellis Park.
"The match against Paraguay was our most difficult so far
and we know that when our opponent sits back and defends it is
tough for us but we came through and the important thing is
that the team is still alive," he added.
Villa again came to Spain's rescue in a dramatic encounter
in which both sides had a penalty saved, following up on a
Pedro shot that came back off the upright and netting with a
strike that hit one post and went in off the other.
"Things are going well and I hope they continue to do so,"
Villa said.
"The goals are important but if you win by a big margin and
you score once or twice it doesn't have the same value."
Andres Iniesta, whose weaving run through the Paraguay
defence helped set up Villa's goal, said his Man of the Match
award would not have been possible without the collective
effort of the team.
"David (Villa) would say the same if he were sitting here,"
the midfielder told a news conference.
"The strength of this team is that everyone plays as a
unit, we all know our job and that helps achieve our success."
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