SEVILLE, Spain - Goals from David Villa and Fernando
Llorente gave Spain a 2-0 win over England in a friendly on
Wednesday as substitute David Beckham equalled Bobby Moore's record
of 108 caps for an England outfield player.
The match against the European Champions in Seville was a chance
for England coach Fabio Capello to assess how far his side has
advanced and the midfield did a good job of closing down Xavi and
Andres Iniesta in the opening half hour.
However, a careless pass by defender Phil Jagielka let Spain in
to score the opener on 36 minutes.
Xabi Alonso picked up the loose ball and fired it to Villa who
jinked his way past several England defenders and sent a low shot
past David James, the sixth match in a row the Valencia striker has
been on target for his country.
Beckham equalled the record of 1966 World Cup winning captain
Moore when he came on at halftime at the Sanchez Pizjuan, one of
five changes made by Fabio Capello at the break.
The home side continued to dominate a toothless England and
substitute Llorente doubled their lead when he outjumped the
English defenders to nod past Robert Green with just under 10
minutes remaining.
Spain, ranked number one in the world by FIFA, are now unbeaten
in 29 matches stretching back to a 1-0 defeat against Romania in
Cadiz in November 2006 and Capello was full of praise for their
performance.
"This is a team that knows how to play the ball around and at
the right moment, when you make a mistake, they kill you," the
former Real Madrid coach said at a news conference.
"They still have the same players and are playing in the same
style as when they won the European Championships and they are
obviously feeling in great shape on the pitch."
England were without several regulars, including injured
midfielders Steven Gerrard and Joe Cole and Manchester United
striker Wayne Rooney and they hardly threatened the Spain goal.
A long-range effort from Shaun Wright-Phillips and a Carlton
Cole shot cleared off the line were the only real chances in the
second period.
Gabriel Agbonlahor had a decent opening early in the first half
but sent his volley just wide while Emile Heskey laboured up front
to little effect before being replaced at the break by Peter
Crouch.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said he was happy with the team's
long unbeaten run but his priority was the World Cup qualifier
against Turkey on March 28 in Madrid.
Spain and England both top their qualifying groups for the
tournament in South Africa with four wins out of four and England's
next match is against Ukraine at Wembley on April 1.
"For the first few minutes we were a little bit lost but we
gradually became better and better," Del Bosque said of his side's
showing on Wednesday.
"It's not only the quality of the way we play that's the key but
it's also the spirit in the squad."