Villa leads Spain into semi-finals

David Villa has kept the European champions in World Cup contention, helping Spain into the semifinals for the first time with a tournament-leading five goals which have offset Fernando Torres' miserable form.

Updated on: Jul 4, 2010, 02:41:07 IST

AP | By HT Correspondent, Johannesburg

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David Villa has kept the European champions in World Cup contention, helping Spain into the semifinals for the first time with a tournament-leading five goals which have offset Fernando Torres' miserable form.

Villa scored in the 83rd minute of Saturday's 1-0 quarterfinal win over Paraguay with a shot that ricocheted off both posts before spinning over the line.

The Barcelona-bound striker moved within one goal of matching Raul Gonzalez' Spanish record of 44.

While Villa soared, Torres continued to stumble. The Liverpool striker was replaced by Cesc Fabregas after 56 ineffective minutes in which his touch was poor, his runs were without conviction and he was pushed around by a physical Paraguay team.

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