Friday, May 18th, 2012
On the face of it, it should seem inconceivable that a hard-fought victory over such relative minnows as Lithuania should serve to underline that Spain have a national team sitting deservedly at the summit of world football today. Pages have been written, hours spoken about the pure footballing gifts of the current generation, yet here was an exhibition if ever there was one of the resolve and resources that La Roja possess. Reminiscing on the great Liverpool sides of the late seventies and early eighties, Graeme Souness once commented, “we could do it both ways: if we had to play football to win, we could do that; if it was a battle, we would win that way too”. In hideously inclement weather conditions and on a football field of such poor quality that it led Xavi to observe “it’s sad that in this day and age there are still pitches like this”, Spain proved that they, too, have the full set of tools at their disposal.
However, to pigeon-hole this encounter as a battle would be to do a disservice to a side that, despite the poverty of the playing surface, showed the ability to remain faithful to their footballing style. From the team that narrowly overcame the Czech Republic in Granada, coach Vicente Del Bosque withdrew Sergio Busquets, Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Ramos, Joan Capdevila and Jesús Navas. In came Andoni Iraola and Raúl Albiol in defence, Javi Martínez in the centre of a three-man midfield, with Fernando Llorente joining new national top-scorer David Villa and Santi Cazorla in a striking trio. An abundance of new faces, yet the men at the heart of all that was once again to be admired about Spain’s play were Xabi Alonso, doggedly persistent in his defensive duties and resourceful with the ball, and an imperious Xavi Hernández. He it was who gave the visitors the lead after eighteen minutes, finishing from club mate Villa’s pass.
The adversity of the conditions ensured that the world champions would not have it all their own way, and when Valencia defender Marius Stankevicius levelled with a stunning drive just before the hour, this point was reinforced. Having been inferior for the duration of the encounter, this might have galvanised a home team surely more accustomed to their surroundings. Del Bosque replaced Cazorla with Valencia’s Juan Mata on the left of the forward line and, after a Javi Martínez volley and a Xabi Alonso free-kick had both gone close, Spain’s renewed pressure told. Xavi’s flighted pass found the substitute running into the left channel, and his cross to Llorente was turned into his own by the unfortunate Tadas Kijanskas as he attempted to rob the Athletic Bilbao striker of a tap-in. Lithuania still posed some disquiet on the counter-attack, forward Tadas Labukas testing Iker Casillas’ handling with a shot that bounced in front of the Real Madrid keeper. Two minutes later, the result was virtually guaranteed as Silva’s first-time flick around the corner placed Mata in front of Lithuania goalkeeper Zydrunas Karcemarskas, and his low, cool finish opened a two-goal advantage.
What had promised to be a test had been passed with assurance and quality, and a fifth straight qualifying win leaves Spain six points ahead of the Czechs at the top of Group I, with qualification all but signed and sealed.
FT: Lithuania 1 (Stankevicius 57) Spain 3 (Xavi 18, Kijanskas o.g. 70, Mata 83)
