Iniesta’s mythical goal in South Africa brought La Roja glory in their only World Cup. Can they repeat in Qatar?
The Spanish national team is a contender for the title in the World Cup, regardless of whether they had an easy path to get there or not. In Qatar 2022, La Roja is going for their second win and goal invites you to see how the first one was.
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SOUTH AFRICA 2010: A dream come true
Spain arrived with sky-high morale two years after winning the second Euro Cup in history in 2008. The Spanish team, led by Vicente Del Bosque, was one of the leading candidates to win the World Cup in South Africa, the first African country to host a final stage World Cup in history.
It was not an easy championship for La Roja. In the debut game, the national team was defeated by Switzerland (0-1). This result made it very difficult to qualify for the next stage. A win against Honduras (2-0) and a win against Chile that qualified both teams served to qualify for the round of 16.
The Portuguese team had a tough game against Del Bosque’s team. Fernando Llorente’s entry in the second half changed the face of the team and influenced La Roja’s improvement. A goal from David Villa was enough to advance to the next round.
The Asturian would again be the protagonist in the quarter-finals against Paraguay, scoring the only goal for the national team in another thrilling match with both missing a penalty. The semi-finals were against Germany, where Carles Puyol took charge of qualifying for the final with an unstoppable header from a corner.
In the final, the Netherlands and Spain went to extra time after neither came through the net in 90 minutes. And with the penalties already lined up, Andrés Iniesta took advantage of a good pass from Fábregas to score the final 1-0 to make La Roja world champions for the first time.
Source: Goal
Gregory Robert is a sports aficionado and a writer for “Social Bites”. He provides in-depth coverage of the latest sporting events and trends, offering a unique and knowledgeable perspective on the world of sports.