Injury concerns surrounding midfielder Andres Iniesta overshadowed Spain's resounding 6-0 thumping of Poland on Tuesday on the home soil of the defending European champions.
Six different scorers showcased Spain’s attacking prowess but the story was Iniesta, as he seemingly aggravated his right thigh and was forced to come off before halftime. A muscle tear in that same right thigh nagged Iniesta for the stretch run of his club season with Barcelona.
However, Iniesta didn’t leave before capping off a goal making the rounds of highlight shows across the globe in the 14th minute. His spectacular lob pass over the Poland back line for Barcelona teammate Xavi Hernandez led to an easy finish by David Silva and finished off a brilliant build-up.
David Villa and Silva staked Spain out to a 2-0 halftime lead. Xabi Alonso, Cesc Fabregas, Fernando Torres and Pedro Rodriguez rounded out the scoring in the second half. The final strike marked Pedro’s first career goal in a Spain jersey.
Torres made his first appearance since undergoing knee surgery in April and celebrated his return with a goal. Fabregas also scored in his second game since fracturing his leg in April.
Despite the injury to Iniesta, Spain are still one of the favorites and enter the 2010 World Cup with 11 straight victories. The Spanish have not lost since a 2-0 defeat to Bob Bradley's USA and face Switzerland on June 16. They depart for South Africa on Thursday.
Spain (4-5-1): Iker Casillas - Alvaro Arbeloa (Sergio Ramos, 55), Joan Capdevila, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol (Carlos Marchena, 72) - Xabi Alonso, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta (Pedro Rodriguez, 39), David Silva (Jesus Navas, 55), Xavi Hernandez (Cesc Fabregas, 56) - David Villa (Fernando Torres, 66).
Portugal 3, Mozambique 0
On a day when Portugal lost one of their most electric players to injury, Cristiano Ronaldo’s side captured a 3-0 win over Mozambique in their final tune-up match in Johannesburg.
The Portuguese went into the break 0-0 against the 85th ranked team in the world and former Portuguese colony. After the break, Danny’s goal in the 51st minute was followed by two strikes from second-half substitute Hugo Almeida in the 75th and 83rd minutes.
Earlier in the day winger Nani was declared unfit for the World Cup after suffering a left shoulder injury in training on Friday. He will be replaced by Benfica's Ruben Amorim.
Cristiano Ronaldo played the last half hour of the match for Portugal and his shot on goal led to Almeida’s tap-in with seven minutes remaining.
Mozambique was the third African team that Portugal has faced ahead of its opening match on June 15 against the Ivory Coast.
Portugal (4-3-3): Eduardo - Miguel, Ricardo Carvalho, Bruno Alves, Fábio Coentrão - Pedro Mendes (Pepe, 76), Deco (Tiago, 60), Raul Meireles (Miguel Veloso, 60) - Danny (Duda, 86), Liedson (Hugo Almeida, 46), Simão (Cristiano Ronaldo, 63)
