kadang2, tapi tidak selalu, pemenang adu pinalti adalah tim yang lebih baik.. Spanyol bisa meng-klaim kemenangan adu pinalti mereka atas italia adalah kemenangan yang pantas, bukan hanya karena mereka membuat 4 gol dibanding italia yang hanya 2 gol, tapi juga dikarenakan oleh dominasi permainan mereka selama 120 menit..
.. .. Senna membuat 4 tembakan, semua dari jarak jauh, 2 di antaranya tepat mengenai sasaran, di mana salah satunya memaksa Buffon melakukan kesalahan yang sebenarnya jarang dia lakukan.. membuat bola terlepas dan membentur tiang gawang.. Rasio keberhasilan tembakan Senna ini lebih tinggi dari rata-2 rasio tembakan kedua kubu, dengan Spanyol membuat 26 usaha, dan 6 yang on target, sementara Italia, yang mempunyai keinginan lebih kecil untuk menembak, secara mengecewakan hanya berhasil membuat 3 tembakan tepat sasaran dari 12 kali usaha.. Spanyol juga unggul dalam penguasaan bola secara keseluruhan (57% berbanding 43) dan tendangan penjuru (8 banding 3). Yang paling penting tentu saja, mereka mampu membuat gol DUA KALI lebih banyak dari pada italia, dan Iker Casillas membuktikan telah membuat DUA KALI lebih banyak penyelamatan dibanding lawannya dari italia. di partai ini Itali boleh saja mengkambing hitamkan Dewi Fortuna,.. tapi dari statistik di atas, Spanyol unggul mutlak atas Italia. .. Selengkapnya (he he): .. Sunday 22 June 2008 Spain deserving of shoot-out reward by Mike Hammond from Vienna Sometimes, not always, the victors on penalties are the better team. Spain can claim that their shoot-out triumph over the world champions was deserved, not only because they scored four spot-kicks to two, but also because of their general domination of play during the preceding 120 minutes. Rearguard victory Italy defended supremely well. What many Azzurri fans were calling a makeshift back four gave Spain's vaunted two-man strike force of David Villa and Fernando Torres very little time and space in which to weave their magic. The occasional jinking run aside, the two forwards were repeatedly ensnared, with every slight miscontrol seized upon voraciously by one or sometimes two or even three white shirts. Torres's second-half substitution was a little victory for the Italian rearguard. Sterile encounter Roberto Donadoni, the Italy coach, countered the loss of chief playmaker Andrea Pirlo through suspension by packing his midfield with players of industry and endeavour. The plan, it seemed, was to cut the supply to the front two at source. Indeed, the tone for a match of relative sterility was set in the opening minutes when the Azzurri parked everyone defiantly in their own half and invited Spain to come on to them in the hope that one loose pass might lead to a counterattacking opportunity. Disappointing ratio Senna fired in four shots, all from distance, getting two on target, one of which forced Gianluigi Buffon into a rare fumble, spilling it against the post. The Villarreal CF midfielder's success ratio was considerably above average for both his side and the game in general, with Spain having 26 attempts on goal but only working Buffon six times. Italy, less willing to shoot on sight, disappointingly managed just three on target from 12 efforts. Incontestable win Spain also had the edge in terms of overall possession (57 per cent to 43) and corners won (eight to three). Most importantly of all, though, they put the ball in the net twice as many times as their opponents during the penalty shoot-out, with Iker Casillas also proving twice as successful as his Italian counterpart, in terms of spot-kick saves. Italy might bemoan their misfortune but, as the statistics show, Spain's victory was incontestable. ---
