day 29 – it all depends on us

June 21, 2010.

Well, we got the victory we needed, even if we didn’t play as well as we should have.  Just like me, Del Bosque isn’t too happy either.

Quick match summary: David Villa scored two goals but missed a penalty, along with the rest of the team – especially Fernando Torres – who spent the game missing as well.

Other game notes:

– with his two goals – #39 and #40 of his national team career – David Villa tied Butragueño, Hierro, Morientes and Raúl as the only Spanish players with five goals in World Cup play, the record.

– and nice bitch slap, David Villa.

– Iker not only shaved off his beard prior to the game (he says it was spontaneous, that he got up and decided to get rid of it), but changed to the green Arconada kit, which he had not yet worn either in the World Cup or the friendlies leading up to it.  The last time he wore it was the day the team showed up in their new kits, against Argentina back in February, which was also his 100th game with the national team.  Both of these acts are probably related to Iker being a bit superstitious – he’s trying to recreate the good times, when Spain was winning, and in style.

– the players need to stop wearing layers underneath so that when they take off their shirts at the end of the game to exchange them, they’ll end up bare-chested.  And yes, I do realize it’s winter in South Africa.

– Piqué’s poor face!  In the first game against Switzerland, he had to get two stitches to close a cut.  In this game, he wore a bandage to cover that area.  And he also got smashed in the mouth and had to play with a tissue stuffed in his mouth, which was later changed to another bandage.  He got three stitches later on on his upper lip and won’t be able to talk for a bit.  And another part of him – his groin – also didn’t end the game too happy.

– I love that one of the Honduras’ players’ last name was “Welcome” (first name is the equally sunny “Georgie”).

– I also love Pepe giving his teammates high-fives as they walked off for halftime and at the end of the game.

– I’m convinced that Sergio Ramos keeps his hair long just so that it will flow out behind him when he jumps.

– did you notice that the players were wearing shirts personalized for this game?  But strangely enough, personalized in English.

– El País has a nice article about how Xabi Alonso got revenge for his father with this game.  A quick summary: it was the 1982 World Cup (Xabi was about six months old at the time).  Periko (Xabi’s father Miguel Ángel Alonso) was a member of host Spain, which was making its debut against Honduras.  Some bad play led to Honduras scoring early, with the game ending 1-1.  It was an embarrassment for Periko and for Spain.

What’s next? This is where it gets complicated…  If Spain wins their last game, they can end up first or second in their group.  If they tie or lose against Chile, they can be second or will go home.  Go here (English) or here (Spanish) if you want to confuse yourself.  I certainly did, which is why I’m not even going to attempt to explain it – sorry!

But the bottom line is, Spain’s fate is up to Spain.