SPAIN 2 EL SALVADOR 0 | INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY RESULT

Spain played its last International Friendly before flying off to Brazil to defend its World Champions Title against El Salvador in Washington DC (USA). The final result was a 2 - 0 result victory by the Spanish Football National Team.

Spanish Coach Vicent Del Bosque took the opportunity given by this match to give the Real Madrid & Atletico de Madrid members of the squad minutes to get themselves into the groove before facing Holland in the first Group B match of the World Cup. Plus it served to test Diego Costa under competitive conditions & see if the Spanish forward has managed to shake off his injury. The latter played 70th min & thus gave signals that he is recovered & just needs to fine tune himself with more playing time. 

The Spanish team dominated the match from start to finish & was far superior than the El Salvador eleven. El Salvador defended in block doing what most opponents do when playing Spain, limiting spaces & pressuring the Spanish forwards. The only real goal opportunity in the first half came when Diego Costa was fouled in the box & a penalty was given. Cesc Fabregas took the ball & the responsibility but missed shooting over the bar. From there on Spain dominated but could not break the crowded defence.

The second half started with Spain bringing on Villa, Silva & Cazorla & the goal opportunities began appearing with more frequency. The El Salvador goalie Hernandez was kept busy & made some important goal savers.  Spain finally managed to break through in the 60th min with David Villa scoring & he then managed the second in the 87th min. Before this Busquets hit the bar.  

Therefore, a comfortable win for Spain with good sensations appearing. Diego Costa looks good, no important squad member got injured (always a risk) & most players got some valuable playing time. The only negative element is the "lack of goal" opportunities for Spain when the opponent shuts themselves up in defence. Spain will need to come up with some new ideas on how to break defences if they are to go far in the upcoming World Cup competition. Most teams have studied Spain well & know that if they can defend & limit spaces they can "hurt" Spain & reduce their effectiveness.

Spain leaves Washington DC (USA) tomorrow & flies off directly to Brazil.
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