Spaniards at last pleased with their World Cup team

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MADRID - Most Spaniards were at last pleased with their World Cup team Wednesday as a result of Tuesday’s 1-0 win over neighbours Portugal in the pre-quarterfinals in Cape Town.

Spanish fans and media have been fairly critical with Vicente del Bosque’s side until now, after a debut defeat against Switzerland and unconvincing wins over Honduras and Chile.

But the reaction to the Portugal win was enthusiastically positive, even euphoric.

More than 15 million Spaniards watched the game, many at outdoor World Cup parties in the major cities.

As expected, La Roja dominated from start to finish, thanks to the stylish possession football - affectionally called “tiqui-taca” - that took them to triumph at Euro 2008.

Even so, there was an agonizing wait until the crucial goal finally went in, the first one conceded by solid Portugal in the entire tournament.

As usual, the Spanish hero was David Villa, who finally broke the deadlock and translated La Roja’s clear superiority into a material advantage.

“The Walls of Jericho have finally been breached,” commented television channel Tele5, as the entire country exploded with delight and relief.

The final whistle in Cape Town provoked a collective outburst of joy across Spain, with flags waving from the balconies and cars honking their horns.

A record Spanish television audience of around 20 million is expected to watch Saturday’s quarter-final against Paraguay, in which Villa will again lead Del Bosque’s attack.

Villa has scored four of Spain’s five goals in South Africa, and the team’s dependence on him for goals is one of the few negative notes struck by the media Wednesday.

One of the questions asked on Madrid radio station Cadena COPE on Wednesday was “who will score the goals if Villa gets injured or loses form?”

Barcelona paper El Periodico said Wednesday that “there is a clear dependency on Villa, and that is slightly worrying”.

El Periodico and other papers alluded to the “poor physical condition” of Fernando Torres, Villa’s misfiring strike partner.

Radio station Cadena SER suggested that for the Paraguay clash Del Bosque should opt for young Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente instead of Torres.

Llorente came on for Torres after an hour and gave the Spanish attack vigour and profundity, in contrast to the hard-working but out-of-sorts Torres.

Another critical point made on Wednesday was that Spain need to be more clinical in front of goal. Sports daily Marca commented that “the team needs around 10 clear chances to convert just one”.

The rest of the media reaction on Wednesday was extremely positive.

Barcelona playmaker Xavi, voted man-of-the-match by FIFA, was singled out for special praise along with Villa.

Catalan paper Sport said that “Xavi is the king of “tiqui-taca” and was pulling all the strings last night”.

Right-back Gerard Pique and central defender Sergio Ramos were singled out for special praise, alongside Xavi, Villa and Llorente.

The Spanish media were unanimously critical of the tactical approach of Portugal manager Carlos Queiroz.

Radio Marca commented that “Queiroz’ plan to defend in depth and hit Spain on the break went up in flames when Villa scored. There was no Plan B at all.”

Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays his club football for Real Madrid, also came in for criticism for his attitude, and AS carries a photograph of the petulant winger spitting at a cameraman at the end of the game.