Albert Riera and Fernando Torres fired as Spain warmed up for the Confederations Cup with a 6-0 thrashing of Azerbaijan http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/2699768/ Gerrard played the first half as England beat Andorra 6-0 to maintain their unbeaten record and move 10 points clear of Group 6. http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/2706632/ Kuyt lasted the distance in Holland's 2-0 victory over John Arne Riise's Norway, with Babel introduced for the last 13 minutes. http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/2706314/ Elsewhere, Andrea Dossena played a part in the second goal as Italy warmed up for the Confederations Cup with a 4-3 win over New Zealand. http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/2706386/ David Ngog scored in a penalty shoot-out as France U20s reached the final of the Toulon tournament at the expense of Gerardo Bruna's Argentina. They now face Chile on Friday night. http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/2708808/
nice one Confederations Cup starts sunday Mmmm footy hope spain do well/dont do well oh well nando needs his rest big season for him coming up
A sensational 11 minute hat-trick from Fernando Torres was the highlight of Spain's 5-0 win over New Zealand in their opening Confederations Cup match on Sunday night. With almost his first touch he scored after six minutes. The New Zealand defence gave him space and he fired home a superb shot from 22-yards out. http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/2729887/ After 13 minutes Torres made it 2-0. Albert Riera started the move down the left flank and sent David Villa into space. The Valencia striker then pulled the back back to Torres who slotted home from close range. http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/2729900/ Two minutes later the number nine almost had a hat-trick when his close range header was saved. http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/2729904/ However, he wasn't to be denied the treble and after Riera instigated the move, Torres met a left wing cross and powered a header into the back of the net. El Nino now has 23 goals for Spain in 63 internationals. Riera, who also had an excellent match then went close when his powerful drive was brilliantly kept out. Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas then made it 4-0 after a slick passing move that was started by Riera. http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/2729906/ Xabi Alonso was also an effective presence in central midfield. Within two minutes of the restart Torres turned provider. A rampaging run down the left saw him burst past two defenders but his left footed cross should have been cut out. However, a bad mistake led to Villa making it 5-0. http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/2730065/ Alvaro Arbeloa then came on as a 53rd minute substitute. Having done his job for the team Torres left the field in the 69th minute when he made way for David Silva. Alonso and Riera played the full 90 minutes while Pepe Reina was an unused substitute. Spain are next in action on Wednesday when they take on Iraq at 3pm BST.
Andrea Dossena was an unused substitute as Italy beat USA 3-1 in their opening Confederations Cup match on Monday night Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso played 90 minutes as Spain beat Iraq 1-0 in their second Confederations Cup match on Wednesday afternoon. The Reds number 14 was at his majestic best in central midfield and was at the heart of Spain's best moments while Torres worked hard in attack alongside goalscorer David Villa. La Furia Roja have now extended their unbeaten run to 34 games and face hosts South Africa in their final group game on Saturday night. The only goal of the game came from Valencia's David Villa in the 55th minute. He had earlier missed a sitter when he headed straight at the Iraq goalkeeper, but when a second headed chance came his way he made no mistake to finally breach the Iraq rearguard. Villa had gone close in the first half when he sent a thunderous volley into the side netting. Liverpool's number nine Torres went close to scoring on a couple of occasions during the opening 45 minutes. He dragged a shot wide and was also denied at close range by the Iraq goalkeeper. Chances were restricted for El Nino after the break and it was his Anfield teammate Alonso that went so close to increasing the tally. Our midfield maestro saw a drilled effort superbly saved and also sent a curler inches over the bar. Overall, Iraq were well organised defensively and Spain had to settle for the solitary goal. Meanwhile, Reds trio Albert Riera, Alvaro Arbeloa and Pepe Reina were unused substitutes. [YOUTUBE]q36weDD8uJQ[/YOUTUBE]
Fernando Torres and Albert Riera were both on the mark as they helped Spain come from 2-0 behind to beat Macedonia 3-2. Liverpool's number nine and Pepe Reina started the game, while Riera played the second 45 minutes. Spain found themselves trailing 2-0 at the break, but in an incredible four-minute spell they were 3-2 in front as Torres and Pique quickly made it 2-2 before Riera fire home the winner. El Nino played for 64 minutes and Reina made way for Diego Lopez two minutes later. [YOUTUBE]ddpDLN71UiQ[/YOUTUBE] Dirk Kuyt scored an excellent goal as Holland surrendered a two goal lead to draw 2-2 with England in Amsterdam on Wednesday night. The Reds number 18 started as a central striker for Holland and netted the opening goal after 10 minutes when he capitalised on a gift from Rio Ferdinand, took the ball around Robert Green and expertly found the net. He also saw an effort kept out by Robert Green and played for 77 minutes. Ryan Babel played the second 45 minutes on the left wing [YOUTUBE]iNud4FsA7ac[/YOUTUBE] Javier Mascherano played the full 90 minutes as he led Argentina to a 3-2 win over Russia in a friendly on Wednesday afternoon in Moscow. The Reds' number 20 had an impressive game in central midfield as he proudly captained the team to victory. Diego Maradona's team came from behind to clinch victory over Guus Hiddink's outfit, courtesy of goals from Aguero, Lopez and Datolo. Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko pulled a late goal back but Maradona's side held on. [YOUTUBE]T_JPZxvuJtY[/YOUTUBE] Yossi Benayoun played for 54 minutes during Israel's 1-1 draw with Northern Ireland in Belfast. [YOUTUBE]ksuUBjmPFbw[/YOUTUBE] Philipp Degen started for Switzerland as they held Italy to a goalless draw. It was a frustrating night for Hungarian duo Krisztian Nemeth and Peter Gulacsi who played the full game as the under-21s lost 4-1 to Wales at Wrexham's Racecourse Ground
Fernando Torres now joint top Spanish Goalscorer Torres leads second-half fightback as Spain beat Macedonia in Skopje Fernando Torres equalled both Alfredo Di Stefano and Julio Salinas in the Spain all-time scorer’s table with his 23rd goal for his country on 51 minutes of the friendly in Skopje. The forward flicked a Xavi cross past Nikolovski who was rooted to the spot. The Liverpool striker’s goal was his team’s first of the night as the European champions fought back from 2-0 down to win 2-3. The Spain players all took to the pitch at the Felipe II de Macedon Stadium wearing the number 21 shirt with the name Jarque on the back. An emotive minute’s silence was held in the memory of Dani Jarque who died from a heart-attack on Saturday. Spain were quickest out of the blocks as Fernando Torres was inches away from controlling a long ball from Arbeloa. Macedonia took a surprise lead early on as Pandev put the home side in front. The striker collected a pass from Naumoski in space, and with just Reina to beat, crashed his shot beyond the desperate dive of the Spain keeper. Pandev scored his second of night just after the half hour mark. The Lazio forward cut inside Puyol before beating Reina with a shot into the far corner. The Spain shot-stopper managed to get his hand to the ball, but couldn’t quite do enough to stop Macedonia doubling their lead. Although Spain were dominating possession, Vicente Del Bosque’s team were having trouble breaking down the Macedonia defence. Fernando Torres had a header saved by Nikolovski as the visitors turned the screw. David Villa struck the post on 45 minutes as the European champions looked to grab a goal back before the interval. The last chance of the half fell to Silva, the midfielder striking the ball straight at Nikolovski after Villa’s free-kick had been blocked by the wall. A header from Fernando Torres six minutes after the break, goal number 23 for his country, breathed life into the visitors. The striker grabbed a yard on his marker before flicking the ball past Nikolovski. Just three minutes later Spain were level as Pique passed the ball into an empty net after a Cesc shot had hit the post. Things got worse for a shell-shocked Macedonia as Riera rifled home from an acute angle on 56 minutes to put Spain into the lead for the first time. With the European champions comeback complete, Vicente Del Bosque brought on Dani Guiza for Fernando Torres. A carrousel of substitutions followed, as both teams made a total of 12 changes in a stop start second-half. Macedonia struck the bar with a free-kick late on, but there were no more goals for either side as Spain held on for the win.