Spain avoids another shock and shows it can overcome even defensive teams at World Cup

Defensive teams beware _ Spain has found its form

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — With Portugal beaten and Switzerland forgotten, defenses may now find there’s no stopping Spain at the World Cup.

Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Portugal put Spain into a quarterfinal against Paraguay and boosted the team’s confidence in its ability to unlock defensive teams.

Spain mostly has come up against those sort of opponents in South Africa and expects to meet more. The confidence to handle such tactics has been rekindled.

“It’s not a surprise but it was what we needed,” coach Vicente del Bosque said of the victory over Spain’s Iberian neighbor. “I don’t even remember what the Switzerland result was now.”

Spain began with a shocking 1-0 loss to Switzerland, but recovered to win three straight games and revitalize the spirit that took it to the 2008 European Championship title.

“Every rival up to now has played back to shut us down and a game like Switzerland can get away from you. But our results over the past years have shown that we know how to be successful,” said striker David Villa, whose 63rd-minute goal moved him atop the tournament scoring list with Gonzalo Higuain and Robert Vittek.

Spain beat Honduras and Chile to top its group, but confidence really soared after Tuesday’s win at Cape Town’s Green Point Stadium against a rival that stacked its own area from the start.

“We suffered a lot against these teams that decided to play us at the back, but you have to have patience and adapt your style,” Villa said. “But there was never any fear — 99 percent of the time our style of play means victory.”

It isn’t just the stars who are contributing. Del Bosque replaced the misfiring Fernando Torres with Fernando Llorente just before the goal, and the striker made an immediate impact in his World Cup debut.

Cesc Fabregas never even came off the bench.

“It was less a tactical change, it was more about getting a fresh player in,” Del Bosque said. “That’s what Llorente brings.”

Del Bosque said Torres would play against Paraguay if he’s ready. The striker is struggling in his recovery from knee surgery.

“He needs time,” defender Gerard Pique said. “He had an operation and it’s always difficult to come back from that. But he’s a very important player for us.”

Spain will definitely hope it has found the offensive key because Paraguay is likely to take a defensive stance after beating Japan in a shootout following a 0-0 draw.

“We played an intelligent game,” Xabi Alonso said. “We saw a great Spain in the second half. I think we saw the best Spain of this World Cup so far.”

Opponents beware.