Spain overpowers Russia
Spain paved their way to the finals today by blanking the Russian side 3-0. The Spaniards were much more dangerous on the pitch, out shooting their opponents 18-6 and placing 11 shots on goal. Xavi Hernandez scored five minutes into the second half and Spain never looked back, adding goals from Daniel Guiza and David Silva en route to a rather one-sided victory.
Germany outlasts Turkey
Turkey may well have been the most exciting team in this year's tournament, providing comeback after comeback to thrill their fans. Wednesday night was no exception- when Miroslav Klose beat the Turkish keeper in a race to the ball and headed it into the net, he put Germany up 2-1 with just over ten minutes remaining. Turkey again refused to say die however, with Semih Senturk running onto the ball at the last second and deflecting it out of the outstretched arms of the German goalie to bring things even in the eighty-sixth minute. Then Germany showed her true character, taking the victory without having to resort to penalties when Philipp Lahm filled the goal with a beautiful strike in the ninetieth minute. You can't get more clutch than that.
Earlier performances
Historically, Germany and Spain have crossed paths nineteen times with Germany having the advantage in victories 8-5. However, one has to feel that this may be Spain's year. They've looked strong all tournament. In Group D play Spain won all three of their matches and outscored their opponents by a respectable five goals. They were clearly superior to Italy in the quarterfinal, blasting 21 shots at their foes in a game that the Italians were lucky to have last until penalties. Today, they dispatched a fairly talented Russian team with seeming ease.
In contrast, Germany's early play left some doubt that they would be able to make it this far. The Germans looked strong in their first game, blanking Poland 2-0, but they played noticeably poorly in a 2-1 loss to Croatia. Facing Austria in a match where the winner went on to the quarterfinals, they allowed their opponents to dominate much of the play and were fortunate to come out with a 1-0 victory. Since then they've shown that they have what it takes to win when it matters, but neither their second defeat of a very lively Portuguese side or yesterday's win over Turkey came easy.
The championship
Germany has looked strong in their last two matches now, and must avoid the inconsistency that plagued them earlier on in the tournament to come out on top. They must also try to limit the chances for a Spanish offense that has managed to put a tremendous number of shots on opposition goaltenders. Spain can't go into this match thinking that it will go as easy as their last two victories. Germany's last two matches came down to the wire against talented teams who never stopped fighting, if Spain allows themselves to let up at all, then Germany will take advantage.
