The much-hyped match between the two arch-rivals lived up to its expectation at the Donbass Arena. Vicente del Bosque sprung a surprise as he made one change to the side that defeated France in the quarters, with Alvaro Negredo starting ahead of both Fabregas and Fernando Torres while Hugo Almeida replaced the injured Helder Postiga for the Portuguese. The highly charged match saw nine yellow cards (five for Portugal and four for Spain) shown. The Portuguese, to their credit, never allowed Spain to play their normal passing game by pressing their opponents high up the pitch. There wasn’t a shot on target from either team until Xavi drove a 25-yard effort into the midriff of Rui Patricio in the 68th minute. In the 90th minute, Portugal found themselves in a four-on-one in a counter attack but Ronaldo failed to make a solid connection. After 120 minutes of turgid football failed to produce a goal, the match was eventually decided by penalties.
Both teams missed their first-kicks, Xabi Alonso and Joao Moutinho efforts were saved, the shootout stood at 3-2 to Spain when Portugal central defender Bruno Alves slammed his kick against the underside of the bar. Cesc Fabregas, who came on as a substitute in the second half, struck the inside of the post and found the back of the net to seal the sudden death contest 4-2 in favor of the La Roja.
Spain, who are trying to win a third straight major trophy after winning Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup, now awaits the winner of the second semi-final to be played between Italy and Germany at Stadion Narodowy Warszawa, Poland on June 28, 2012. The final will be played at Kiev on July 1.
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