Spain enter uncharted territory here on Wednesday as the European Champions attempt to reach a World Cup final for the first time.
A vibrant young German side that knocked four goals past Australia, England and Argentina on its way to the last four stands between Vicente Del Bosque’s squad and Sunday’s final at the Soccer City, Johannesburg.
While Germany have been playing out of their skins, the Spanish have not quite reached their optimum level of performance so far in South Africa.
Yet such is the reverence accorded to their current crop of stars, it would be regarded as an upset if they were to fall at the penultimate hurdle in their quest to emulate the West Germany side that became European champions in 1972 and went on to lift the World Cup two years later.
Remarkably for a country whose domestic league has long been considered one of the strongest in the world, Spain have only once before been in touching distance of sport’s biggest prize.
Del Bosque admits the pressure on his players to fulfil their potential is huge, although he has played down suggestions that has contributed to the difficulties Spain have encountered on the road to the last four.
Instead, the Spanish coach points to the fact that three of his side's five matches have been against Latin American opponents — Honduras, Chile and Paraguay — all of them adept at denying opponents time and space.
Against Germany, the Spanish are hoping for a more open encounter. “We know we can play better than we have done so far and we hope to do that in the semi-final,” Del Bosque said. “I think it will be a good advert for football.”
Spain are hoping for more from Fernando Torres, who has had a subdued tournament so far and has been eclipsed by five-goal team-mate David Villa. — AFP