Fernando Torres, who struck the winner for Spain’s Under 16s when they beat France 1-0 to claim the title in 2001, and again in the 2002 European Under 19s final against Germany, will be aiming to maintain his 100% when Spain face Germany on Sunday, kick-off 19:45 hours (BST).

Following the injury to Torres’ strike partner David Villa in the semifinal win over Russia, the Spanish number ‘9’ may well be the lone striker in Luis Aragones’ line-up. Fernando could form part of a 4-5-1 formation as Spain look to dominate possession, just as they did in their semifinal clash in Vienna.

Since Spain last lifted their only major international trophy 44 years ago, the national team have only made the finals of one European championship, losing to France in 1984. Germany on the other hand have appeared in five European Championship finals plus a further six World Cup finals.

On the way to the Vienna final, Spain won all three of their Group D matches before beating Italy in the quarterfinal via a penalty shoot-out. Fernando Torres and his team-mates then went on to cruise past Russia 3-0 in the semifinal to book a place in the final of Euro 2008. The Spanish number ‘9’ has started all but one of Spain’s game (Torres was rested for his side’s last group game against Greece) scoring one goal, plus playing a pivotal role in his team’s victories.

Germany, who will be trying to win their fourth European Championship, had mixed fortunes during the group stages. Joachim Loew’s men began their Euro ’08 campaign with a 2-0 over Poland before suffering a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Croatia. Germany managed to seal second spot in Group B with a 1-0 victory over co-hosts Austria in their final group stage game in Vienna. The Germans then defeated Portugal in the quarterfinals 3-2 before squeezing past Turkey in the semifinals by the same scoreline.

German manager Joachim Loew believes that his side will be in for a tough test: “Spain have played the whole tournament at the highest level and they have been technically very good. They proved in impressive fashion that they were the better team against the Russians and they have a more varied game than the Portuguese.”

Fernando Torres believes Spain are capable of upsetting Joachim Loew’s team in Sunday’s final: “Germany, just like Italy, are used to playing these kind of matches. Germany are favourites, but we’ve shown we can beat big teams.”

The German national team have had the better of the head-to-head meetings, notching-up eight wins to Spain’s five, with six matches ending in a draw. The last meeting between the two teams was an international friendly in Mallorca on 12 February 2003 which ended in a 3-1 win for the home side.

Spain’s only previous success on the international stage came in the 1964 European Championships, when as hosts they defeated the USSR at the Santiago Bernabeu to win the title. On Sunday Fernando Torres will be looking to end his country’s 44 year wait as the striker sets his sights on lifting Spain’s second European Championship title.


Photo: J.A. Sirvent