David Villa scored two goals to lead Spain past Honduras 2-0 in World Cup action Monday in South Africa.
With the victory, the Spanish side can breathe a sigh of relief after suffering an abysmal loss to Switzerland in their opening match last week.
Villa started the festivities in the 17th minute on a beautiful solo attack. He broke in from the left wing and brilliantly slipped between two defenders, evaded a third, and then curled the ball perfectly into the top of the net.
The goal gave Spain immediate life and they never looked back after that.
Adding to the Spanish resurgence was the insertion of Liverpool striker Fernando Torres into the starting lineup. Torres came off the bench last game but seemed rusty after recovering form an injury suffered last month.
Although he didn’t score, he was a noticeable force at times and had several opportunities in close but failed to finish.
La Furia Roja continued its assault on Honduras in the second half as Villa extended the lead to two only six minutes in.
After a splendid display of passing, Villa received the ball at the top of the box and unleashed a powerful shot that hit Honduran defenceman Osman Chavez in the knee, deflecting over the outstretched hand of keeper Noel Valladares.
Shortly after Villa’s second marker, the Barcelona striker had a chance for the hat trick after being rewarded a penalty kick for Emilio Izaguirre’s foul on Jesus Navas in the box.
Unfortunately for Villa, he sent the ball wide and became the first Spain player to ever miss a penalty at the World Cup.
Honduras failed to generate much of an attack throughout the match and finished with zero shots on target.
The win moves Spain into a second place tie with Switzerland in Group H, with Chile setting the pace at six points after defeating the Swiss 1-0 earlier in the day.
Up next for Spain is a must-win game against Chile on June 25 while Honduras will try and spoil the party in its match against Switzerland the same day.