A much changed Spanish side took on asian giants South Korea and managed a slender 1-0 win thanks to a wondergoal from Jesus Navas. Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque made nine changes to the side that lined up against Saudi Arabia in their last friendly.
It was the South Koreans who initially started the game on the front foot with Spanish goalkeeper Pepe Reina’s goal being threatened by strikes from Jae Sung and Jung Woo.
Pepe Reina was brilliant in front of the goal in the first half for Spain
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La Furia Roja soon started to control the game though with their relaxed passing. Their first chance came when Andres Iniesta just managed to find Mata with a through ball. The forward could not pull off his shot on time as he was robbed by the Korean defense.
More chances presented themselves for Spain as after some delectable passing Cesc Fabregas found himself with a clear opportunity only to watch his shot fly off the crossbar. Jesus Navas was causing havoc on the right hand side and managed to breeze past two defenders only to shoot and hit the side netting.
Reina was called up into action again and showcased his true world class qualities by smothering a one on one with Chu Young and then saving the attempted lob from the follow-up.
An entertaining first half ended 0-0. Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes replaced an excellent Pepe Reina at the restart.
The second half started much the same as the first with South Korea almost managing a goal thanks to some schoolboy defending from Spain. Vicente Del Bosque had seen enough from his second string side and decided to throw on Xavi, Xabi Alonso, David Villa and Pedro in a bid to regain control of the game.
It was Navas who looked most dangerous for La Furia Roja however and after dancing past his marker again, let fly a low shot from angle which was kept out by Sung-Ryong’s leg.
Spain continued to probe and it was end to end stuff as both sides had clear opportunities. Sung-Yong’s set-piece deliver found Jung-Soo, but his header just flashed wide of an open goal after Valdes came to claim but was beaten in the air.
At the other end David Villa’s shot was blocked unbelievably by Sung-Ryong, but the South Koreans failed to clear the lines and Jesus Navas was on hand to produce a wondergoal. His screamer from nearly 30 yards out giving the goalkeeper no chance. 1-0 to Spain!
The game petered out after that with neither side really looking to create.
Spain continued their winning run ahead of the World Cup finals, but the much vaunted Spain squad struggled to break open the resolute Korean defense. Jesus Navas was undoubtedly the man of the match and looks ready for a first team opportunity. Vicente Del Bosque has a selection headache in front of him but will be more than happy to claim the victory.
