Villa stunner gives Spain victory

A spectacular volley from David Villa has handed Spain a confidence-boosting 1-0 victory over Italy in their friendly this evening in Elche.

The evenly matched contest looked to be heading for a scoreless result, before Villa pounced on a poor headed clearance from Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro to rifle home a left-footed volley that left keeper Buffon with no chance.

Spain will be well pleased with the result, whilst Italy won't be too disappointed with their showing. They may consider themselves quite unfortunate to lose the match, having defended strongly throughout the game, and spurned a number of chances to score themselves.

The friendly was played with Euro 2008 in mind, as both teams tinkered with their formations and made full use of the substitutes bench, and with no more matches for Spain before manager Luis Aragones announces his squad, players were eager to impress.

Italy was more than happy to play on the counter attack early on, and they were unlucky not to be leading on 12 minutes. Andrea Pirlo whipped in a dangerous free kick, Luca Toni rose highest to head home, but the goal was ruled out for an infringement. The replays showed little wrong with the goal, and the Italians may well feel aggrieved.

The Azzurri were fortunate not to be caught out at the other end straight away, as Fernando Torres led a swift counter-attack that ended with David Silva wasting a decent chance as he shot wide.

Carles Puyol was forced off the pitch with an injury shortly after, with Aragones taking a safety-first approach with the experienced defender, in a move that will please his Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard.

Chances were scarce in the first half, with Spain's best coming in the 37th minute, as Xavi chipped it to Silva, who teed up Torres, but his shot was saved smartly by Buffon, who also stopped the follow-up from Fabregas.

The second-half saw the tempo slow as each team made an array of substitutions. But Italy nearly broke the stalemate on 51 minutes, as great play on the left from the impressive Fabio Grosso set up Camoranesi, whose first-time shot cannoned back off the crossbar and was cleared.

Neither team found their rhythm after the substitutions, and chances remained at a premium. The restless Spanish crowd chanted frozen-out striker Raul's name throughout the second half, in another obvious message to manager Aragones that they think his form merits a recall to the squad.

But Spain enjoyed much of the possession, and Fabregas forced a block from Buffon in the 66th minute. They were also unlucky not to be awarded a penalty minutes later, as Gattuso appeared to trip substitute Luis Garcia in the box without making contact with the ball. But the Austrian referee Fritz Stuchlik waved away the Spanish appeals.

The deadlock was finally broken, however, in the 78th minute. Cannavaro failed to clear a long ball effectively, and Villa, who had struggled to get into the game to this point and had even been booked for diving, struck a brilliantly-timed volley into the top corner.

The goal failed to trigger a reaction from the Italians, who failed for much of the match to supply target man Luca Toni with many opportunities. And it was Spain who nearly made it a two-goal lead, as Villa had a shot saved by Buffon after a long pass from debutant Arbeloa.