Portugal 0-0 Spain (aet, 2-4 on penalties): Fabregas puts holders into final
The Barcelona man netted the decisive spot-kick after Bruno Alves had rattled the bar to book La Roja a date in the showpiece event in what will be their third successive final
Spain progressed to their third consecutive major final with a 4-2 penalty win over Portugal in the Euro 2012 semi-final at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk.
Despite playing at far from their best and with chances to find the net at a premium, a total of 120 minutes failed to separate the two sides as the game ended 0-0. And after Bruno Alves rattled the bar with Portugal's fourth penalty of the shoot-out, it was left to Cesc Fabregas to score the winner.
Vicente del Bosque sprung a surprise before kick off as he made one change to the side thatdefeated France in the quarter-finals, electing to start with AlvaroNegredo in attack ahead of both Fabregas and Fernando Torres.
His Portuguese counterpart Paulo Bento also made one alteration, with Hugo Almeida replacing the injured Helder Postiga after naming the same side for their sixprevious competitive fixtures.
The Seleccao set about disrupting Spain's rhythm immediately by pressing their opponents high up the pitch. It worked for the opening few minutes as La Roja struggled to get their foot on the ball but they soon forged a chance for themselves.
Andres Iniesta played a give-and-go down the left flank with Jordi Alba before passing the ball into the box. Negredo could not get a shot away but managed to stab itback to the top of the penalty area where Alvaro Arbeloa tried to caress it into the top corner but his attempt flew over the bar.
But the Spaniards were by no means dominating and Cristiano Ronaldo was proving difficult for Del Bosque's men to deal with. However, two charging runs downthe left failed to result in anythingto truly test Iker Casillas with a free kick and a wild volley on the spin inside the opening 25 minutes.
Bento's men continued their high-intensity pressing and Spain were unable to get the most out of Xavi when on the ball. A long delivery forward resulted in an opportunity for Iniesta but he failed to hit the target, and moments later Ronaldo pulled an effort wide of the goal.
Spain continued to look uncomfortable on the ball and just nine minutes after the restart Del Bosque had to concede that his pre-match gamble had not paid off as he replaced Negredo with Fabregas.
Portugal were getting a lot of joy from putting the Spaniards under pressure in their own half but Almeida failed to make the most of it in the 57th minute. After his side won the ball back he could have passed to Nani or Ronaldo but instead produced an ambitious shot from 35 yards that did not work Casillas.
As edited, formatted and published by 'Ucheonye Nzubechi
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