Spain 10-0 Tahiti: Torres nets four in Rio rout

Spain were in complete control at the Maracana, demolishing Tahiti10-0
on Thursday to edge towards a spot in the Confederations Cup
semi-finals.
With the world's top ranked team facing off against a side 137 places
lower, pre-match predictions heralded a double digit scoreline andla
Rojadid not disappoint, with FernandoTorres scoring four times, and
David Villa adding a hat-trick of his own.
The Chelsea striker struck either side of a David Silva effort, before
Villa added Spain's fourth just before the break to give Spain a 4-0
half-time lead.
Spain's record goalscorer would add his 55thand 56th international
goals in the second half, alongside a Juan Mata piledriver and another
pair of efforts from Torres, who also missed a penalty, before Silva
added the 10th goal a minute from time.
Vicente del Bosque put out a completely different team to the one that
beat Uruguay 2-1 on Sunday, as Javi Martinez, Santi Cazorla and Mata
were all handed starts after appearing as substitutes at the Itaipava
Arena Pernambuco.
It did not take Spain long to get the ball rolling, but Tahiti keeper
Mikael Roche will no doubt be disappointed at the ease with which he
letTorres'shot slip past his grasp atthe near post.
Torres had a chance to make it 2-0 five minutes later, but he opted,
and failed, to lob the keeper, when Villa was in acres of space
waiting for the tap in.
Certainly, the vast majority of the fans inside the Maracana were
behind the minnows from French Polynesia, with every incursion past
the halfway line greeted with a deafening roar.
But such forays were few and far between, as Spain continued to
dominate proceedings despite rarely playing above a leisurely pace.
The stadium was brought to their feet once again after a barnstorming
run from Steevy Chong Hue was halted by a cynical Raul Albiol
challenge, but Marama Vahirua could not get the free kick past the
wall.
Jonathan Tehau blocked on the line from Juan Mata, and Roche was again
able to tip away from Cazorla as the second Spain goal loomed large
and duly arrived on the half-hour mark when Villa slipped
inSilvabehind the full-back for an easy finish.
And moments later,Torresmade it 3-0 after breaking the offside trap,
rounding Roche and prodding home.
Villanearly added a fourth 38 minutes in when he blasted into the side
netting at the far post, but the Barca striker would make nomistake
seconds later, sliding into an empty net after Spain overloaded on a
five on one break.
With a double-digit scoreline in sight, Spain did not let up.Villawas
at it again four minutes after the restart, arriving first ahead of a
queue of Spain players to bundle in Nacho Monreal's cross.
Torrescompleted his hat-trick in the 57th minute when he converted
from close range thanks to a square pass from Jesus Navas, who set up
a similar chance moments later forSilva, who missed badly.
Villawould join in on the treble fun just past the hour, taking
advantage of a missed interception by Roche to finish into an empty
net to make it 7-0.
Spain's players seemed to be almost queuing up to score andMataquickly
added their eighth goal after bundling his way past the defence and
drilling into the bottom corner.
But Roche, so often left stranded for the majority of Spain's goals,
made two smart saves in quick succession to save from Villa's free
kick, and a long-range effort by Cazorla.
With 12 minutes remaining, Ricky Aitamai conceded a penalty after
handling Navas' cross, but Torres smacked the spot-kick off the
crossbar, to an enormous eruption of delight from the crowd.
However,Torreswould silence the fans somewhat seconds later, latching
onto Raul Albiol's pass and sprinting in behind the defence with ease
to finish.
At this point, the only question remaining waswhether Spain would
reach double figures and Silva would achieve the symbolic feat in the
89th minute, turning and firing home from eight yards to round off a
rout for the ages.