David Villa struck two minutes into stoppage time as Spain defeated a stubborn Sweden 2-1 at the Stadion Tivoli Neu in Innsbruck to guarantee their presence in the UEFA EURO 2008™ quarter-finals as Group D winners.
Spain through
The game had looked like ending in a draw after Zlatan Ibrahimović's second goal in as many games had wiped out Fernando Torres's 15th-minute opener on a chilly evening in the Austrian Alps. Yet Villa, the scorer of a hat-trick in the opening triumph against Russia, had other ideas as he raced on to Joan Capdevila's pass and dispatched it low into the net. Russia's later 1-0 win against Greece confirmed Spain's progress and completed a clean sweep of groups clinched with a game to spare after the efforts of Portugal, Croatia and the Netherlands. To earn a quarter-final against the Dutch, Sweden must now get at least a point against Russia here on Wednesday.
No surprise
Spain coach Luis Aragonés surprised no one by selecting the same XI that had started the Russia game, but there were only hints of the devastating fluidity of that 4-1 win as Sweden hustled and harried effectively. Ibrahimović could even have given Lars Lagerbäck's side the lead inside the opening minute only for the FC Internazionale Milano striker's normally assured touch to escape him when well placed inside the box.
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