Russia v Spain

Excellent work from Tom here, as Spain comprehensively dismantled Russia 3-0.

At times last night I couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing in the first semi-final but what is for sure is that Spain and Russia will both now really fancy their chances of going all the way having witnessed a simply horribly performance from Joachim Low’s side.

The fact that Germany remain in the tournament, given how badly they defended, is pretty incredible and if they were to play that poorly in the final then the winner of the clash in Vienna on Thursday would rip them to shreds. I’m not sure who they’ll face, but the standard of play is sure to be better than witnessed on Wednesday and there are stars on show all over the pitch.

Spain dismantled a shell shocked Russia in the opening Group D fixture of Euro 2008 but, while the Spaniards haven’t quite scaled those heights since, Guus Hiddink’s men have improved hand over fist.

The return of Andrei Arshavin, he was suspended for the first two matches, has transformed a well organised side into an exciting one and in Roman Pavlyuchenko he also has a very talented strike partner. The two of them caused no end of problems for the Dutch in their last eight clash and this has all the makings of the game of the tournament.

Russia could have had five or six against Holland but Spain’s turgid goalless encounter of Italy was the undoubted low point of the finals so far. That was mainly due to the Azzurri’s reluctance to leave their own half but Spain did appear to lack a few ideas and that is a slight concern. Fernando Torres didn’t look quite at his best and David Villa grew increasingly frustrated throughout.

So many games at the highest level are won and lost in midfield but this appears an especially crucial area on Thursday and I think the Spanish just have the edge. Marcos Senna shields Puyol and Marchena superbly while the likes of Xavi and Iniesta are so brilliant in possession that they will cause any side problems.

Cesc Fabregas also impressed when he made an appearance as a substitute against the Italians and if Spain can dominate in the middle then they may just deprive the wonderfully gifted Arshavin of enough of the ball to do any damage.

At just 1.60 to qualify Spain look short enough but I think they can get it done in 90 minutes and at odds against I am prepared to take the chance they do so. 2.10 is probably just about the right price, but they boast a greater number of match winners and were they to emerge victorious then they’d probably be installed as favourites to lift the trophy.