Vicente del Bosque's Spanish squad achieved a comfortable away win to Estonia to maintain their 100 percent record after three qualifying games for the 2010 World Cup.
The result of the match was never in doubt after a header from Juanito and a David Villa penalty gave the Spanish two goals in the space of four minutes after 33 and 37 minutes.
Spain finally won the game 3-0 against a weak Estonian team with Carles Puyol adding the third and final goal midway through the second half.
Del Bosque started with a side that had Betis defender Juanito in for the unfit Carlos Marchena and Fernando Torres back to partner David Villa in the Spanish attack. Santi Cazorla played onthe right of a midfield, where the big surprise was the inclusion of Xabi Alonso ahead of Marcos Senna.
Sergio Ramos, who had been an injury doubt all week, was finally able to start the game at right back.
The Spanish controlled the game right from the start against a side who are ranked over 130 places below them by FIFA. But it wasnot until the 33rd minute that they opened the scoring.
A foul on Andres Iniesta saw Xavi Hernandez float the ball intothe Estonia penalty area, where it was met by a firm header from Juantio to open the scoring.
Spain doubled their lead just four minutes later from the penalty spot. Fernando Torres was pulled down in the Estonia penalty area and Villa fired home from the spot.
Estonia had lost their previous World Cup qualifying game 7-0 to Bosnia-Herzegovina and were desperate not to see a repeat of that humiliation. As a result, they defended deep to deny the Spanish side space in attack.
Spain were never put under any pressure in defence, but found it tough to create further chances from open play. Their third goal came as the result of a free kick.
Andoni Iriola, who had come on to replace Ramos, was fouled outside of the area and Xavi floated in another free kick. Torres got a good header on the ball only for his effort to hit the crossbar. Fortunately for Spain, Puyol was on hand to head home the rebound from close range. It was only his second goal in 70 appearances.
The Spanish controlled the rest of the game, but were unable to add to the score. They now travel to Brussels on Wednesday knowinganother win will almost assure their place in the next World Cup finals.
Source: Xinhua
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