Spain beats Uruguay with 9 Barca players

Spain beat the South American Champions Uruguay last night with a total of 9 FC Barcelona players being used for the clash.

Goals came from Barca’s Pedro (2) and Cesc Fabregás (1). It was a friendly that served as a prelude to the upcoming Confederations Cup where both teams will be playing.

It was not one of Spain’s better games but it didn’t really matter anyway. Cesc put the World Champion’s ahead and Cebolla Rodriguez leveled the score before the break.

In the second half Spain let its hair down and Pedro scored twice to put the American champions to the sword.

La Roja lacked the intensity that the competition deserves, but with the passing of time, started to get into the game which was probably motivated by the Uruguayan attitude, which is always competitive by nature.

As has happened on numerous occasions, the Spanish team had control of the ball, but got stuck in the last quarter of the pitch. It was a problem that was resolved after the break. Cesc’s goal came on minute 16 when he struck from the outside of the area.

Muslera could have caught the ball but it slipped past him and into the net – terrible goalkeeping.

Uruguay was not at all uncomfortable without the ball and should have expected a game like this. To the contrary however, the Uruguayans proved to be highly dangerous and capable of getting the most out of the lack of ball possession they enjoyed.

Luis Suarez and Cavani especially, were causing the Spanish defense, a few problems. And it was to be Cebolla Rodriguez with some beautiful control in the area, who was left alone against Valdes to shoot and score making it one goal apiece.

The Uruguayans used force to slow Spain down with Jordi Alba and Cesc being on the end of some tough tackling which annoyed the two Barca team-mates.

Mercilessly
After the break Spain took it up a gear and improved dramatically. The Uruguayans were not as fresh as the first half and the Spanish team, with a notable difference in fitness levels, turned the screws.

It was time for Pedro to prove why he’s a first team member for Roura / Vilanova and Del Bosque. The man from Tenerife scored twice in typical Barca fashion to put this game to bed. The first came from a pass from Gerard Pique and the second came courtesy of a goal assist from Fabregás.

New Faces
The game also left a good feeling for the future improvement of the team. Azpilicueta made his debut in the starting lineup and Mario Suarez and Isco came on in the second half for Cazorla and Iniesta.

On a different note, one of the highlights of last night was the England vs Brazil game at Wembley. England beat Brazil by 2 goals to 1 with some great strikes by Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard which answered Neymar’s taunt that England was a one-man team – referring to Rooney. Joe Hart was at his very best and saved a penalty from Ex Barca star Ronaldinho who got his 100th cap for his country. England haven’t beaten Brazil in 13 years and last night showed them that they can mix it with the best teams out there.