Spain 2 – 0 South Africa Video Highlight

Spain 2 – 0 South Africa

Spain set a world record of 15 consecutive international wins after beating South Africa 2-0 to reach the Confederations Cup semis.

South Africa also reached the last four and had chances but Teko Modise and Bernard Parker were too hurried.

Itumeleng Khune saved David Villa’s 51st-minute penalty, but a minute later the Valencia man scored.

Villa’s precise volley was too good for Khune and Fernando Llorente added a second from close range.

Spain’s win also ensured Vicente del Bosque’s side equalled Brazil’s all-time record of 35 matches unbeaten.

The game in Bloemfontein offered a contrast in styles, with Spain relying on a short-passing game and plenty of possession, while South Africa looked to hit their European opponents with speed on the counterattack.

Spain had the better of the first-half chances, with Albert Riera testing Khune with a thundering long-range free-kick.

Khune also did well to deny Fernando Torres with a one-handed save, while Villa might have done better with a couple of headers.

South Africa started to cause Spain real problems, but were hindered by a lack of composure when they glimpsed a sight of Pepe Reina’s goal.

Having survived Spain’s early onslaught, Parker sliced wide after good work from Everton’s Steven Pienaar.

Parker and Pienaar then combined to set up Modise, who scuffed his shot wide.

Having matched Spain in the first half, South Africa found themselves chasing the game following a frenetic passage of play early in the second half.

Mokoena’s late challenge on Fabregas gave away a penalty, but Khune produced a superb save to beat away Villa’s powerful shot and then got up quickly to smother Carlos Puyol’s effort from the rebound.

But within a minute Villa had atoned for his penalty miss, controlling a floated pass and volleying past Khune, although South Africa defenders appealed, claiming the Valencia forward had used his arm to cushion the ball.

Substitute Llorente sealed the win in the 72 minute when he slid the ball past Khune after South Africa failed to clear a free-kick.

Spain earned its record-tying 14th straight win and a spot in the Confederations Cup semifinals by beating Iraq 1-0 on Wednesday.

David Villa slipped between two defenders and beat Iraq goalkeeper Mohammed Kassid for the only goal of the match in the 55th minute, sending Joan Capdevila’s cross low and inside the right post for his 30th goal in his 46th international appearance. The Valencia striker moved into sole possession of second place in Spain’s scoring charts, trailing only Raul Gonzalez’s 44.

Spain matched Brazil, France and Australia as the only teams to win 14 straight games and is now within one game of matching Brazil’s record 35-game unbeaten run. A victory against host South Africa in Spain’s final Group A match would see it become the first team to win 15 straight in all competitions.

Spain leads the group with six points, while Iraq still has one. South Africa was to play New Zealand later Wednesday in the other group match.

Despite the defeat, Iraq coach Bora Milutinovic was beaming after a near “perfect” performance.

“I’m very, very happy for the way my team played,” the Serbian coach said. “Especially to play against a team like Spain in this way, when we didn’t have so much time to prepare for this game.”

Villa had headed another clear chance straight into the hands of Kassid two minutes before his goal as Spain finally overcame a stubborn Iraq team that denied the Spanish clear possession through the first half. Nine Iraqi players were often stacked behind the ball until Spain broke the deadlock.

Neither team started well on the sub-par field, with Iraq’s defensive plan aided by Spain’s early complacency.

“They played very intelligent and with great discipline,” Milutinovic said of his team. “We played like that because these are the players we have.”

Amid a constant blare of vuvuzela trumpets, Spain began to come alive in the 13th when Gerard Pique headed wide. Moments later, Fernando Torres was clear on Kassid but couldn’t reach Xavi Hernandez’s well-read return ball.

Villa volleyed Sergio Ramos’ cross from the right into the side netting from a tight angle in the 25th for Spain’s best first-half chance.

Villa’s goal allowed Spain to play with usual ease as Xabi Alonso tested Kassid from far out before Torres volleyed a clear long ball from Villa over the crossbar.

The 30,512 fans roared for the final 20 minutes as Spain continued to press, with Kassid denying Juanma Mata after a superb lay-off in the 79th and Ramos sent a half-volley over the bar.

Nashat Akram tried one last time for Iraq, shooting wide from outside the area in the 88th as the Iraqis managed only one shot on goal. The Spanish ended up with 21 shots while Iraq had just five.

Milutinovic said he believes his team still has a chance to advance to semifinals along with Spain. The Iraqis play New Zealand on Saturday.

“A football match is like life, you need a little bit of mathematics,” the Serbian said. “The first game you can’t lose, the second you do the best you can. Maybe we can go through with only two points.”

Lineups:

Spain: Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique, Carlos Marchena, Joan Capdevila, Xabi Alonso, Santi Cazorla (David Silva, 67), Xavi Hernandez (Sergio Busquets, 82), Juanma Mata, David Villa (Dani Guiza, 74), Fernando Torres.

Iraq: Mohammed Kassid, Mohammed Ali Kareem, Basem Abbas, Fareed Majeed, Nashat Akram, Hawar Mulla Mohammed (Halkard Mulla Mohammed, 69), Salam Shaker, Ali Hussein Rehema, Alaa Abdul Zahra (Younis Mahmoud, 80), Samer Saeed (Mahdi Kareem, 60), Muayad Khalid.