Spain's flawless start to UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group I

Substitute Fernando Llorente scored with 11 minutes left to keep up Spain's flawless start to UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group I after Scotland had fought back from two goals down.

David Villa equalled Raúl González's record of 44 goals for Spain with a penalty just before the break and Andrés Iniesta looked to have put the result beyond doubt when he added a second soon after half-time. However, Steven Naismith with his first for Scotland and an own goal from Gerard Piqué threatened to give the home side a point until Llorente – left out of the starting lineup despite scoring twice in Friday's 3-1 defeat of Lithuania – claimed the winner within three minutes of his introduction.

Having taken a cautious approach in the 1-0 loss in the Czech Republic on Friday, Scotland manager Craig Levein brought back striker Kenny Miller and gave defender Phil Bardsley his debut with Alan Hutton injured. In front of a capacity crowd Scotland sought to exert some early pressure but the visitors were the first to threaten through Villa, shooting over after being picked out by Iniesta.

Within two minutes Villa tested Allan McGregor with a header from a Sergio Ramos cross and the keeper then rushed from his line to block David Silva's goal-bound effort. Scotland broke and it took the combined efforts of Carles Puyol and Piqué to clear James Morrison's effort off the line from Darren Fletcher's cross. However, it proved to be a temporary respite and on the half-hour McGregor again denied Villa from point-blank range.

The opening goal seemed inevitable and a minute before the break Spain were awarded a penalty after Whittaker handled Ramos's shot in the box. Villa stepped up and although McGregor got fingertips to the ball, the away side were ahead.

Ten minutes after the restart Spain doubled their advantage when Iniesta slotted in from close range after Santiago Cazorla's shot had rebounced off Stephen McManus. Scotland, however, had hope three minutes later, Naismith turning in Miller's cross, and Hampden erupted when Piqué diverted Morrison's centre past Iker Casillas.

However Llorente, whose starting place had gone to Xabi Alonso, was brought on and swiftly side-footed in Joan Capdevila's cross from the left. Scotland ended with ten men when Whittaker picked up a second yellow card for a challenge on Ramos and they are back in third, two points behind the Czech Republic and five adrift of Spain having played a game more than both.

Fernando Llorente goals and David Silva's spectacular strike Euro 2012 qualifier

European champions Spain took control of qualifying Group I thanks to two goals from Fernando Llorente and a wonderful strike by David Silva.

All the goals came in the second half and only when Darvydas Šernas equalised in the 54th minute did Vicente del Bosque's side, playing in their coach's home city of Salamanca, truly show their class. They now have a two-point advantage over Lithuania and Scotland, Spain's hosts on Tuesday, after a perfect start to their UEFA EURO 2012 campaign.

Although Spain's list of absentees looked daunting, only three of those who started the FIFA World Cup final were actually missing – Xabi Alonso, Xavi Hernández and Pedro Rodríguez. Santi Cazorla,  Llorente and Silva were the beneficiaries but the loss of Alonso to illness also changed the tactical pattern from the traditional 4-2-3-1 to 4-1-4-1.

Del Bosque had warned those who expected a "comfortable" victory to think again and Lithuania were well organised. Twice in the first 17 minutes Silva hit fierce low shots but Žydrūnas Karčemarskas was untroubled in dealing with them. What followed was rare imprecision from La Roja and Sergio Ramos cracked a free header off the post. Then when Llorente gave notice of his special night by forcing a fine save from Karčemarskas, Villa surprisingly sent his simple chance spinning wide of the post.

The visitors took heart. Just before the interval Tomas Danilevičius profited from a quick pass by Edgaras Česnauskis but Iker Casillas saved before Saulius Mikoliunas burst through but missed. However, immediately after the break Ramos found the pace to get towards the byline and cross perfectly for Llorente to head in with Karčemarskas out of position. Lithuania only waited seven minutes before replying; Šemberas found winning space and possession in midfield unusually easy and when the ball came to Šernas he finished clinically.

Now the game was tremendously exciting and less than two minutes later Spain were ahead again. This time Cazorla affected a clever trick on the right and crossed to the far post, where Llorente headed in magnificently. When Silva added a cherry on the icing he did so in style, curling an unstoppable shot around the goalkeeper's outstretched right hand and the Salamanca crowd celebrated. Partly in joy, partly in relief after a difficult night was turned into a fitting tribute to the world and European champions.

Spain are not taking their Euro 2012 qualifiers against Group I rivals Lithuania and Scotland lightly

Spain are not taking their Euro 2012 qualifiers against Group I rivals Lithuania and Scotland lightly even though they may look like relatively weak opponents, coach Vicente del Bosque said on Thursday.The world and European champions, who won their opening group match against Liechtenstein 4-0, play Lithuania in Del Bosque's home town of Salamanca on Friday and travel to Glasgow to take on Scotland on Tuesday."These are two key matches for us, even though you might think that they are comfortable games," Del Bosque said at a news conference at a hotel on the outskirts of Salamanca."We have to be prepared to encounter difficulties," he added, noting that the Lithuanians had yet to concede a goal in drawing 0-0 at home to Scotland and surprising Czech Republic 1-0 in Prague in their opening two qualifiers."Lithuania are a well-organised side, without any really big names but who play very well," he added."We know that the margin for error is tight and we have to focus on that."The potential gulf between the sides is illustrated by the world rankings, with Spain top ahead of Netherlands, Germany and Brazil, Lithuania 42nd and Scotland 47th.However, injuries have deprived Del Bosque of several key players, including playmakers Xavi and Cesc Fabregas and forwards Fernando Torres, Pedro and Jesus Navas.Del Bosque said Xavi's Barcelona team mate Andres Iniesta may take on the playmaker role against Lithuania but added that he had other options including Manchester City''s David Silva and Villarreal pair Santi Cazorla and Borja Valero."There is no doubt that he (Xavi) is one of our best players," Del Bosque said. "But we'll try to make sure his absence is noticed as little as possible."Speaking at an earlier news conference, central defender Gerard Pique said the players were hoping striker David Villa netted the goal he needed to draw level with Spain's record scorer Raul on 44.Former Real Madrid striker Raul, now at Bundesliga club Schalke 04, scored his 44 goals in 102 appearances, while Villa has 43 in 67."The goal-scoring ability that Villa brings to the team is very important," said Pique, who plays with Villa at Barca. "The sooner he can equal the record, so much the better."

Fernando Torres is out of the Spain for the upcoming Euro 2012 qualifier

Liverpool's Fernando Torres is out of the Spain squad to face Lithuania and Scotland in next week's Euro 2012 qualifiers and could also miss a crucial Merseyside derby after picking up an adductor strain in Sunday's loss to Blackpool, his club said Monday.

The striker limped off after just nine minutes of the 2-1 defeat to Blackpool - a loss which left the side in the bottom three - and he has withdrawn from the Spanish squad, Liverpool said on their website.

"Fernando was assessed earlier today at Melwood and underwent a scan this afternoon," said Dr Peter Brukner, Liverpool's Head of Sports Medicine and Sports Science.

"He will have intensive treatment over the next couple of weeks but it is too early to say if he will be fit for the game against Everton."

Everton have also struggled this season in the league but moved above their city rivals after winning for the first time this campaign at Birmingham at the weekend.

Xavi rested for Spain euro 2012 qualifiers

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has named a 20-man squad for the forthcoming UEFA EURO 2012 qualifiers against Lithuania and Scotland, with Xavi Hernández the main omission for La Roja.

The FC Barcelona midfielder is thought to be suffering from tendinitis and has been rested for the games in Salamanca and Glasgow. The FIFA World Cup winners are also without Cesc Fàbregas (hamstring) and Raúl Albiol (ankle) for the Group I encounters on 8 and 12 October, but defender Carles Puyol returns having missed the recent friendly defeat away against Argentina.

"The games against Lithuania and Scotland represent very dangerous fixtures," Del Bosque said. "To the uninitiated the outcome of these encounters might seem a foregone conclusion, but they are teams who are ahead of us in the standings and any slip-up now would be very dangerous for us. Lithuania are exceptionally well organised while Scotland at home represent very tricky opponents."

World champions Spain opened the defence of their UEFA European Championship title with a 4-0 victory in Liechtenstein on 3 September.

Xavi was a surprise omission on Thursday from Spain coach Vicente del Bosque's squad for the world champions' Euro 2012 Group I qualifiers

Madrid: Xavi was a surprise omission on Thursday from Spain coach Vicente del Bosque's squad for the world champions' Euro 2012 Group I qualifiers against Lithuania and Scotland next month. The Barcelona playmaker, whom a Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) spokeswoman said was suffering from an Achilles problem and had asked to be rested, joins fellow midfielder Cesc Fabregas and defender Raul Albiol on the injury list. Fabregas damaged a hamstring during Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Sunderland on Sept. 18 and was expected to be out for two to three weeks. "We have two fundamental matches which are extremely dangerous," Del Bosque, who willlead...

Xavi Left Out Of Spain Squad For Euro 2012 Qualifiers

Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque has chosen to omit Barcelona midfielder Xavi from his squad for their upcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers with Lithuania (October 8th) and Scotland (October 12th).The undisputed master of the five-yard pass has been left out due to worries over a persistant Achilles tendon problem. Real Madrid defender Raul Albiol and Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas are also set to miss out on proceedings with ankle and hamstring injuries respectively.The Spain squad in full:Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Victor Valdes (Barcelona), Jose Reina (Liverpool)Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Carlos Marchena (Villarreal), Joan Capdevila (Villarreal), Nacho Monreal(Osasuna)Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Santi Cazorla (Villarreal), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Pedro (Barcelona), Jesus Navas (Sevilla)David Villa (Barcelona), David Silva (Man City), Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao), Fernando Torres (Liverpool)As you can see, without Xavi, Albiol and Fabregas, Del Bosque has been left worringly short of options.

Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuaín and Carlos Tévez all hit first-half efforts as the world and European champions experienced a rare defeat.

World and European champions Spain were made to taste a rare defeat as they were comprehensively beaten by Argentina in Buenos Aires.
Fresh from winning 4-0 away against Liechtenstein in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group I on Friday, Vicente del Bosque's charges were brought down to earth by first-half efforts from Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuaín and Carlos Tévez. Fernando Llorente responded late on for the visitors, but the last word fell to Sergio Agüero, who restored Argentina's three-goal advantage.

Spain's troubles began ten minutes in as the familiar face of FC Barcelona's Messi chipped superbly over goalkeeper Pepe Reina after collecting a Tévez through ball. Moments later Tévez fed Real Madrid CF's Higuaín to double the advantage, and the Manchester City FC forward added the third himself on 34 minutes following a slip by Reina.

Argentina coach Sergio Batista can hardly have hoped for a better opening period, and his troops made light of Llorente's 84th-minute consolation when Agüero headed in during stoppage time.