Spain reaches 31 and goes for Brasil

On Wednesday, Spain secured a 2-1 win at Turkey, extending their unbeaten run to 31 consecutive matches. Spain’s current run has equalled a European record for staying undefeated in successive official international matches.

Hungary had set the European record of 31 in 1954 and this record was equalled by Spain between 1994 and 1998.

Spain’s last international defeat was at home to Romania on 15 November 2006 (0-1).
The world record is 36 and was set by Brazil between 1993 and 1996.

Do you think that the Spanish National Team is one of the best of the history?

Longest streaks of international matches without defeat
# Nation Start date Won Drawn Match which ended streak

36 Brazil 16 Dec 1993 29 7 Mexico - Brazil (21 Jan 1996) 2-0
31 Spain 07 Feb 2007 28 3 Still running
31 Hungary 04 Jun 1950 27 4 West Germany - Hungary (04 Jul 1954) 3-2
31 Argentina 19 Feb 1991 18 13 Colombia - Argentina (15 Aug 1993) 2-1
31 Spain 07 Sep 1994 20 11 France - Spain (28 Jan 1998) 1-0
30 Italy 24 Nov 1935 24 6 Switzerland - Italy (12 Nov 1939) 3-1
30 France 16 Feb 1994 20 10 Denmark - France (09 Nov 1996) 1-0
29 Brazil 08 Mar 1970 21 8 Italy - Brazil (09 Jun 1973) 2-0
28 Korea Republic 03 Sep 1977 23 5 Japan - South Korea (04 Mar 1979) 2-1
27 Ghana 30 Mar 1980 15 12 Ghana - New Zealand (07 Jun 1983) 0-2
27 Colombia 31 Jul 1992 13 14 Colombia - Bolivia (07 Apr 1994) 0-1

Note: Streaks are based on matches which the country in question regards as official.

Spain vs Turkey: Santiago Bernabeu Stadium receives the match of the weekend

The most difficult match of Spain Road to WC 2010, arrives when La Furia Roja is living the best moment in the history. The Euro 2008 champions, seems to have the best players as a National Team and they don’t need many changes in their line-ups as it happens with any Team that experience crisis.

As a result, it is time for records. First David Villa scored one goal per game at EURO 2008, then Xabi Alonso reached 50th cap...

According to our friendly site Spanish Football Sports, Spain vs Turkey achieves special moments for Iker Casillas and David Villa again.

Spain, enjoy it!

Spain and Portugal goes for World Cup 2018

The football associations of Spain and Portugal have formally agreed to submit a joint bid to host the 2018 World Cup.

Portuguese Federation president Gilberto Madail signed the official FIFA document with Spanish counterpart Angel Maria Villar in Lisbon yesterday after an Iberian bid had been mooted for over a year.

Under the joint plan, Spain is expected to host the greater share of matches. FIFA regulations stipulate that candidates must provide approximately 12 stadiums capable holding at least 40,000 fans for group matches, and one stadium of at least 80,000 capacity to stage the opening match and final.

“We will create a joint commission to assess all FIFA conditions,” said Portuguese Federation president Gilberto Madail to reporters after signing the document.

The Iberian bid will expect strong support from the three South American representatives on FIFA's 24-man executive committee.

FIFA announced last month there would be a simultaneous bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. Other countries who are proposed to be bidding to host either or both of the tournaments are England, Australia, Russia, China, Qatar, the United States, Japan and a joint bid from Belgium/Holland.

The winning bids will be announced in December 2010.

Spain football team named Infostrada Sports’ Team of the Year for 2008

The National Football Team of Spain has been voted Infostrada Sports’ Team of the Year for 2008. In June, Spain won the European Championship for the second time after beating Germany 1-0 in the final.

It was the second European Championship trophy for Spain after they lifted the trophy for the first time in 1964. It was Spain’s third appearance in the European Championship final. In 1984, they lost 2-0 against France in the final.

David Villa became top scorer at Euro 2008 with four goals. That is the fewest goals for a European Championship top scorer since 1992, when Dennis Bergkamp, Tomas Brolin, Henrik Larsen and Karl-Heinz Riedle all scored three goals.

At the age of 69 years and 337 days, winning coach Luis Aragonés became the oldest coach ever to appear in the final of the European Championship.

Infostrada Sports’ Team of the Year 2000–2008
Year Winners

2008 Spain (Football)
2007 South Africa (Rugby)
2006 FC Barcelona (Football)
2005 Liverpool (Football)
2004 Greece Men's Team (Football)
2003 England Men's Team (Rugby Union)
2002 South Korea Men's Team (Football)
2001 Bayern München (Football)
2000 France Men's Team (Football)

Most European Championship titles
# Nation Editions

3 Germany 1972, 1980, 1996
2 France 1984, 2000
2 Spain 1964, 2008
1 Soviet Union 1960
1 Italy 1968
1 Czechoslovakia 1976
1 Netherlands 1988
1 Denmark 1992
1 Greece 2004

Oldest head coaches in European Championship finals
Age (y-d) Name Team Match

69-337 Luis Aragonés Spain Spain - Germany (29 Jun 2008) 1-0
65-330 Otto Rehhagel Greece Portugal - Greece (04 Jul 2004) 0-1
62-160 Miguel Muñoz Spain France - Spain (27 Jun 1984) 2-0
60-279 Helmut Schön West Germany Czechoslovakia - West Germany (20 Jun 1976) 2-2
60-137 Rinus Michels Netherlands Netherlands - Soviet Union (25 Jun 1988) 2-0
59-014 Roger Lemerre France France - Italy (02 Jul 2000) 2-1
58-125 Dino Zoff Italy France - Italy (02 Jul 2000) 2-1
57-199 Guy Thys Belgium West Germany - Belgium (22 Jun 1980) 2-1
55-238 Luiz Felipe Scolari Portugal Portugal - Greece (04 Jul 2004) 0-1
55-191 Ferruccio Valcareggi Italy Italy - Yugoslavia (10 Jun 1968) 2-0

Top scorers at European Championship
Year Name Nation Goals Matches G/M

2008 David Villa ESP 4 4 1.00
2004 Milan Baroš CZE 5 5 1.00
2000 Savo Milosevic YUG 5 4 1.25
Patrick Kluivert NED 5 5 1.00
1996 Alan Shearer ENG 5 5 1.00
1992 Dennis Bergkamp NED 3 4 0.75
Tomas Brolin SWE 3 4 0.75
Henrik Larsen DEN 3 4 0.75
Karl-Heinz Riedle GER 3 5 0.60
1988 Marco van Basten NED 5 5 1.00
1984 Michel Platini FRA 9 5 1.80
1980 Klaus Allofs FRG 3 3 1.00
1976 Dieter Müller FRG 4 2 2.00
1972 Gerd Müller FRG 4 2 2.00
1968 Dragan Dzajic YUG 2 3 0.67
1964 Deszõ Novák HUN 2 1 2.00
Pereda ESP 2 2 1.00
Ferenc Bene HUN 2 2 1.00
1960 Milan Galic YUG 2 2 1.00
Viktor Ponedelnik URS 2 2 1.00
Valentin Ivanov URS 2 2 1.00
Drazan Jerkovic YUG 2 2 1.00
Francois Heutte FRA 2 2 1.00

Spain – Armenia: Xabi Alonso goes for 50 caps

Today Spain is the favourite team of the match, again. They are in one of the best moment of the history and are in a great streak on WC qualifying. Now they will host Armenia who lost last match against Turkey at home on Saturday.

Prediction: Spain will win scoring al least two goals.

If Xabi Alonso plays, he will reach 50 official matches wearing “A” Spanish t-shirt.

Spain – Armenia Head to Head:

Erevan 11/10/2003 ARM 0:4 (0:1) ESP Euro qualifying
Leon 02/04/2003 ESP 3:0 (0:0) ARM Euro qualifying
Sevilla 07/06/1995 ESP 1:0 (0:0) ARM Euro qualifying
Erevan 26/04/1995 ARM 0:2 (0:0) ESP Euro qualifying

European Champions unbeaten in World Cup qualification: Spain - Bosnia Herzegovina preview

Spain can equal West Germany’s record non-losing streak in World Cup qualification matches for European countries when they host Bosnia-Herzegovina in Murcia, tomorrow.

Spain has not lost in 35 World Cup qualification matches. (West) Germany’s record streak of 36 ended on 16 October 1985 with a 0-1 loss to Portugal, according to Infostrada.

Spain’s last defeat in a World Cup qualification match dates back to 31 March 1993: Denmark – Spain 1-0.

Portugal is on a current streak of 30 World Cup qualification matches without a loss.

Longest undefeated streak in World Cup qualification – European countries
# Country Start date W D Match that ended streak

36 (West) Germany 11 Mar 1934 32 4 West Germany - Portugal (16 Oct 1985) 0-1
35 Spain 28 Apr 1993 25 10 Still running
30 Portugal 09 Oct 1996 21 9 Still running
23 Germany 17 Nov 1985 14 9 Germany - England (01 Sep 2001) 1-5
23 Italy 22 Sep 1993 17 6 Slovenia - Italy (09 Oct 2004) 1-0
21 Croatia 11 Oct 1997 14 7 Still running
21 England 18 Nov 1981 11 10 Norway - England (02 Jun 1993) 2-0
18 Yugoslavia 03 Apr 1938 13 5 Norway - Yugoslavia (16 Jun 1965) 3-0
17 Republic of Ireland 02 Sep 2000 10 7 Republic of Ireland - France (07 Sep 2005) 0-1
16 Serbia and Montenegro 02 Jun 2001 10 6 Still running

David Villa: one goal per game

As we said, David Villa has secured the title of top scorer at Euro 2008 without having played in the final.

But that is the fewest goals for a European Championship top scorer since 1992, when Dennis Bergkamp, Tomas Brolin, Henrik Larsen and Karl-Heinz Riedle all scored three goals.

Top scorers at European Championship (Goals - Matches - Goals/match)

1960 Milan Galic YUG 2 2 1.00
Viktor Ponedelnik URS 2 2 1.00
Valentin Ivanov URS 2 2 1.00
Drazan Jerkovic YUG 2 2 1.00
Francois Heutte FRA 2 2 1.00

1964 Deszõ Novák HUN 2 1 2.00
Pereda ESP 2 2 1.00
Ferenc Bene HUN 2 2 1.00

1968 Dragan Dzajic YUG 2 3 0.67

1972 Gerd Müller FRG 4 2 2.00

1976 Dieter Müller FRG 4 2 2.00

1980 Klaus Allofs FRG 3 3 1.00

1984 Michel Platini FRA 9 5 1.80

1988 Marco van Basten NED 5 5 1.00

1992 Dennis Bergkamp NED 3 4 0.75
Tomas Brolin SWE 3 4 0.75
Henrik Larsen DEN 3 4 0.75
Karl-Heinz Riedle GER 3 5 0.60

1996 Alan Shearer ENG 5 5 1.00

2000 Savo Milosevic YUG 5 4 1.25
Patrick Kluivert NED 5 5 1.00

2004 Milan Baroš CZE 5 5 1.00

2008 David Villa ESP 4 4 1.00

Source: Infostrada

Spain reached France

On Sunday, 29 June, Spain won the European Championship for the second time, beating Germany 1-0 in the final.

In 1964, Spain also lifted the trophy after beating the Soviet Union 2-1 in the final.
They also reached the final in 1984, but lost 2-0 against France.
As well as winning the European Championship three times (1972, 1980, 1996), Germany have now also lost in three European Championship finals (1976, 1992, 2008).

Most European Championship titles

3 Germany 1972, 1980, 1996
2 France 1984, 2000
2 Spain 1964, 2008
1 Soviet Union 1960
1 Italy 1968
1 Czechoslovakia 1976
1 Netherlands 1988
1 Denmark 1992
1 Greece 2004

Source: Infostrada

Xavi Hernandez is the best player at EURO 2008

Surprise! Finally Xavi Hernandez Creus was named by UEFA the best player of the EURO Cup.

We supposed that Iker Casillas would be chosen, or maybe Fernando Torres due to his best performance during the final, but UEFA have decided that Xavi was the best one.

There wasn´t an exceptional player during this EURO, but we can confirm that the best team was Spain, for sure.

Spain 1 - Germany 0: two faces

Picture: Bild.de

David Villa is the top scorer

Only four goals (three of them in the first match vs Russia) were enough for David Villa to be the top scorer at UEFA EURO 2008.

Here we have all the players that were “close”.

David Villa Spain 4
Roman Pavlyuchenko Russia 3
Lukas Podolski Germany 3
Hakan Yakin Switzerland 3
Semih Şentürk Turkey 3
Andrei Arshavin Russia 2
Michael Ballack Germany 2
Miroslav Klose Germany 2
Bastian Schweinsteiger Germany 2
Daniel Güiza Spain 2
Fernando Torres Spain 2
Zlatan Ibrahimović Sweden 2
Ivan Klasnić Croatia 2
Nihat Kahveci Turkey 2
Arda Turan Turkey 2
Wesley Sneijder Netherlands 2
Ruud van Nistelrooy Netherlands 2
Robin van Persie Netherlands 2

Spain Champion: Spain 1 Germany 0

Spain 1 Germany 0: Spain is the EURO Cup Champion!!!

Fernando “Niño” Torres scored the goal that gives the second title to Spain in the history, the first one since 1964.

See the goal on You Tube :-)

Germany – Spain: what a final!

As you know, On Sunday 29 June, Germany and Spain will contest the final of Euro 2008.

Germany have qualified for the European Championship final for a record sixth time and for the first time in 12 years. Spain has reached their third European Championship final and their first one in 24 years.

The Soviet Union is the only other country to have reached a European Championship final more than three times.

Spain can become only the third country to win this competition at least twice, following Germany (3) and France (2).

European Championship final berth per nation

Finals Victories (defeats)
6 Germany 3 (2)
4 Soviet Union 1 (3)
3 Spain 1 (1)
2 France 2 (0)
2 Italy 1 (1)
2 Czech Republic 1 (1)
2 Yugoslavia 0 (2)
1 Denmark 1 (0)
1 Greece 1 (0)
1 Netherlands 1 (0)
1 Belgium 0 (1)
1 Portugal 0 (1)

Thanks to Infostrada

Xavi Hernandez goal was the 500th in the EURO Cup history

Xavi’s opening goal in the Euro 2008 semifinal between Spain and Russia (3-0) was the 500th goal in the history of the European Championships.

Here we have the detail, according to Infostrada:

1 Milan Galic YUG France - Yugoslavia (06 Jul 1960) 4-5 Semifinal (0-1)
100 Alain Giresse FRA France - Belgium (16 Jun 1984) 5-0 Group stage (2-0)
200 Kim Vilfort DEN Denmark - Germany (26 Jun 1992) 2-0 Final (2-0)
300 Zlatko Zahovic SVN Slovenia - Spain (18 Jun 2000) 1-2 Group stage (1-1)
400 Thierry Henry FRA Switzerland - France (21 Jun 2004) 1-3 Group stage (1-3)
500 Xavi ESP Russia – Spain (26 Jun 2008) 0-3 Semifinal (0-1)

The best player of EURO 2008

Who is / was the best player of EURO 2008? I am not sure, really. I think that UEFA will choose Michael Ballack or David Villa or Iker Casillas depending on the champion. I don´t remember an excellent performance during an important final since Zinedine Zidane vs Brazil on 1998.

What do you think? Do you have candidates or you will wait until sunday match?

Germany – Spain: final preview

Spain vs Germany, Germany vs Spain. The last match of this EURO Cup will be played at Stadion Tivoli NEU, in Innsbruck, Austria.

Talking about history, Germany doesn’t “lose” any historical head-to-head. In that case, the stats says that The Mannschaft have won eight matches against Spain and tied six times. Spain won five meetings.

The Iberians won the first one, held in Köln. Germany have won four of last 10 matches, while Spain won two.

All matches since 1935

12.02.2003 Palma de Mallorca (SPA) Spain - Germany 3:1 (1:1)
16.08.2000 Hannover Germany - Spain 4:1 (1:0)
22.02.1995 Jerez de la Frontera (SPA) Spain - Germany 0:0 (0:0)
World Cup 21.06.1994 Chicago (USA) Germany - Spain 1:1 (0:1)
EURO 17.06.1988 München (GER) Germany - Spain 2:0 (1:0)
15.10.1986 Hannover (GER) Germany - Spain 2:2 (0:1)
EURO 20.06.1984 Paris (FRA) Germany - Spain 0:1 (0:0)
World Cup 02.07.1982 Madrid (SPA) Germany - Spain 2:1 (0:0)
EURO 22.05.1976 München (GER) Germany - Spain 2:0 (2:0)
EURO 24.04.1976 Madrid (ESP) Spain - Germany 1:1 (1:0)
23.02.1974 Barcelona (SPA) Spain - Germany 1:0 (1:0)
24.11.1973 Stuttgart (GER) Germany - Spain 2:1 (2:0)
11.02.1970 Sevilla (SPA) Spain - Germany 2:0 (2:0)
World Cup 20.07.1966 Birmingham (ENG) Germany - Spain 2:1 (1:1)
19.03.1958 Frankfurt (GER) Germany - Spain 2:0 (1:0)
28.12.1952 Madrid (SPA) Spain - Germany 2:2 (1:2)
12.04.1942 Berlin (GER) Germany - Spain 1:1 (0:0)
23.02.1936 Barcelona (SPA) Spain - Germany 1:2 (1:1)
12.05.1935 Köln (GER) Germany - Spain 1:2 (1:2)

Spain 3 – Russia 0 semifinal: goals and precision

Xavi Hernandez, Daniel Guiza and David Silva scored to give the Spaniards a place in the final, road to their second European title, when they play Germany on Sunday at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna.

Lineups:
Spain: Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Carles Puyol, Carlos Marchena, Joan Capdevila, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez (Xabi Alonso, 68), Marcos Senna, David Silva, David Villa (Cesc Fabregas, 34), Fernando Torres (Daniel Guiza, 68).

Russia: Igor Akinfeyev, Alexander Anyukov, Sergei Ignashevich, Vasily Berezutsky, Yuri Zhirkov, Sergei Semak, Konstantin Zyryanov, Igor Semshov (Diniyar Belyaletdinov, 56), Ivan Sayenko, Andrei Arshavin, Roman Pavlyuchenko.

Russia - Spain: the revenge

Spain and Russia played the first match of the EURO 2008 (LINK) in front each other. Spain defeated without problems 4-1 in the best day of David Villa. When Arshavin returned at the fields Russia improved, they qualified at quarterfinals and made history beating Netherlands.

During the football history, Spain defeated Russia or Soviet Union five times, while Russia only defeated Spain once.

Here we have the head to head:

EURO Q 22/05/1960 Spain 0:3 Soviet Union Forfeit
EURO 21/06/1964 Spain 2:1 (1:1) Soviet Union Madrid
EURO Q 30/05/1971 Soviet Union 2:1 (0:0) Spain Moscow
EURO Q 27/10/1971 Spain 0:0 Soviet Union Seville
Friendly 22/01/1986 Spain 2:0 (1:0) Soviet Union Las Palmas
Friendly 19/02/1992 Spain 1:1 (0:0) Cis Las Palmas
Friendly 23/09/1998 Spain 1:0 (1:0) Russia Granada
EURO 12/06/2004 Spain 1:0 (0:0) Russia Faro-Loule
Friendly 27/05/2006 Spain 0:0 Russia Albacete
EURO 10/06/2008 Spain 4:1 (2:0) Russia Innsbruck

Italy – Spain: could the history be important again?

The EURO 2008 is giving some interesting results: all runners-up in groups are winning. But the numbers between Italy and Spain are very particular and they are playing each other since 1920. In the previous matches Italy won 9, while Spain won 8. But during important tournaments, Spain only won in 1920 during the Olympic Games.

Let’s see if Spain can change the history to reach the semifinals.

Here we have all Spain- Italy matches:

Olympic Games 2- 9-1920 Antwerp Spain 2-0 Italy
9- 3-1924 Milan Italy 0-0 SpainOlympic Games
25- 5-1924 Paris Italy 1-0 Spain
14- 6-1925 Valencia Spain 1-0 Italy
29- 5-1927 Bologna Italy 2-0 Spain
22- 4-1928 Gijon Spain 1-1 Italy
Olympic Games 1- 6-1928 Amsterdam Italy 1-1 Spain
Olympic Games 4- 6-1928 Amsterdam Italy 7-1 Spain
22- 6-1930 Bologna Italy 2-3 Spain
19- 4-1931 Bilbao Spain 0-0 Italy
World Cup 31- 5-1934 Firenze Italy 1-1 Spain
World Cup 1- 6-1934 Firenze Italy 1-0 Spain
19- 4-1942 Milan Italy 4-0 Spain
27- 3-1949 Madrid Spain 1-3 Italy
28- 2-1959 Rome Italy 1-1 Spain
13- 3-1960 Barcelona Spain 3-1 Italy
21- 2-1970 Madrid Spain 2-2 Italy
20- 2-1971 Cagliari Italy 1-2 Spain
25- 1-1978 Madrid Spain 2-1 Italy
21-12-1978 Rome Italy 1-0 Spain
Euro 12- 6-1980 Milan Italy 0-0 Spain
Euro 14- 6-1988 Frankfurt Italy 1-0 Spain
World Cup 9- 7-1994 Boston Italy 2-1 Spain
18-11-1998 Salerno Italy 2-2 Spain
29- 3-2000 Barcelona Spain 2-0 Italy
28- 4-2004 Genova Italy 1-1 Spain
26- 3-2008 Elche Spain 1-0 Italy

Russia vs Netherlands: last quarterfinal confirmed

At Stadion Tivoli NEU, Innsbruck, Russia beat Sweden 2-0 and it is the last team that qualified at quarterfinals. Spartak Moscow´s Roman Pavlyuchenko in the 24th minute scored the first goal, while Zenit forward Andrei Arshavin closed the match scoring during the fifth minute of the second half.

The match left some tips:
* Guus Hiddick will face his country team at quarterfinals: Netherlands.
* It is the first time that Russia advances from the first round in a mayor tournament.
* It is the first time in last four important tournaments that Sweden can´t advance. They could reach playoffs during the World Cups 2002 and 2006 and EURO 2004.

In another meeting, Spain defeated Greece 2-1. De la Red and Guiza scored Spanish goals, while Charisteas had opened the match scoring. Greece campaign was the worst performance for a last EURO Champion.