SPORTS

THE DAY REPLAYED – Sport comes in all shapes and sizes and while the game between Spain and Tahiti may have been one-sided, the experience of playing in front of 71,806 fans at the Maracana will live with the Oceanians forever. To their credit, Eddy Etaeta’s side played in a positive manner and for a large part of the first half, limited Spain to just a handful of opportunities. They had attitude and effort in abundance, but displayed defensive naïveté; their high line allowing Spain to counter-attack with ease.



La Furia Roja found themselves cast in the unfamiliar role as pantomime villains, with the crowd fully behind the underdogs. Every save of Mikael Roche was loudly cheered and the roof nearly lifted off the famous arena when Fernando Torres clipped the top of the crossbar with his 78th minute penalty. Roche was enjoying playing to the crowd, celebrating as if he had just made the save of the century, but it was Torres who would go on to have the last laugh, scoring his fourth goal a minute later, equalling the tournament’s record.



Meanwhile in Group B’s other game, the experience of Uruguay told against the youth of Nigeria in an even contest. After a bright start by La Celeste, the Super Eagles grew into the game, with only a wonder-strike by Diego Forlan separating the sides. Although the African champions were guilty of making defensive mistakes during the 90 minutes, they showed that their squad is full of talent which is being well-nurtured by coach Stephen Keshi.