SM
Bayern vs. Augsburg: 16 hrs 10 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
SN
International Friendlies
Jun 9, 2018 at 7.45pm UK
 
TN

1-0

Aspas (84')
FT(HT: 0-0)

Late Iago Aspas strike helps Spain floor Tunisia

:Headline: Result: Late Iago Aspas strike helps Spain floor Tunisia: ID:327974: from db_amp
A late goal from Celta Vigo's Iago Aspas helps Spain to a 1-0 win over Tunisia in their final World Cup warm-up game.

England's World Cup opponents Tunisia have capped off their preparations for the tournament with a 1-0 defeat to Spain in a close friendly international at Krasnodar Stadium.

Julen Lopetegui's side left it late to make a breakthrough, with Celta Vigo forward Iago Aspas coming off the bench to net the decisive strike four minutes from time.

The Spanish saw more of the ball in the opening stages but it was their opponents who almost drew first blood in the 12th minute as Anice Badri's ball into the box caught their defence off guard, allowing Ferjani Sassi to get a shot away, which flew into the arms of David De Gea.

End-to-end action followed, with Naim Sliti shooting over in the 19th minute and Sergio Ramos trying his luck from range moments later, finding only the stand behind the goal.

Tunisia missed a sitter just after the half-hour mark as Badri's dangerous cross found Sliti unmarked at the far post, but the Lille midfielder put too much on his strike and skewed it off target.

Spain found their rhythm in the second period but Tunisia restricted them to long-range efforts for much of it, one of which came from Jordi Alba shortly after the restart as he blazed the ball over the crossbar.

Manchester City's David Silva was next to try his luck for the Spaniards, collecting a pass from Ramos before unleashing a curling effort that dipped just wide of the mark with one hour played.

Tunisia gave as good as they got throughout the match but Spain's finishing let them down for much of the duration, and Real Madrid striker Marco Asensio joined a long list of their players who failed to find the target in the 75th minute when he prodded a cut-back wide from inside the box.

Spain's winner came in the 84th minute after Diego Costa danced into the penalty area before squaring a pass to Aspas, who made the net ripple with a screamer from 12 yards out.

Aspas's strike proved the last meaningful chance for either side as Spain saw out the match to end their World Cup preparations on a positive note.

Lopetegui's men face Portugal, Iran and Morocco in the group stage at the finals, while Tunisia are up against Panama and Belgium as well as England.

SPAIN (4-5-1): De Gea; Alba (Aspas 76'), Odriozola, Pique, Ramos; Iniesta, Alcantara (Koke 45'), Busquets, Silva (Asensio 60), Isco (Vazquez 45'); Moreno (Costa 60')

TUNISIA (4-3-3): Mathlouthi; Meriah, Maaloul (Haddadi 58'), Bronn, S. Ben Youssef (Srarfi 91'); Sassi, Skhiri, Khaoui (Ben Amor 62'); Badri (Benalouane 78'), F. Ben Youssef, Sliti (Khalifa 69')

amp_article__327974 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2018-06-12 04:07:30:
html db last update - 2018-06-12 04:07:30 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html
Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool119112161528
2Manchester CityMan City117222213923
3Chelsea115422113819
4Arsenal115421812619
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest115421510519
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton115421915419
7Fulham115331613318
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
9Aston Villa115331717018
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1151523131016
11Brentford115152222016
12Bournemouth114341515015
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd114341212015
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Leicester CityLeicester112451421-710
16Everton112451017-710
17Ipswich TownIpswich111551222-108
18Crystal Palace11146815-77
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves111371627-116
20Southampton11119721-144
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .