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- iHaveNet.com: Soccer
By Fitzgerald Cecilio
Warsaw, Poland
Fernando Torres found the back of the net twice while David Silva and Cesc Fabregas scored a goal each as defending champion Spain cruised to a 4-0 victory over Ireland to get their first win in the 2012 UEFA Euro at PGE Arena.
Coming off a mediocre 1-1 draw with Italy in their group opener, Spain this team unleashed their prolific offense against Ireland with a revived Torres leading the charge.
Torres, who helped Chelsea clinch their first UEFA Champions League title, made his presence felt four minutes into the game when he caught a nice pass from Silva and fired a shot from a tight angle to open up the scoring.
Torres did not start against Italy last week but a tactical adjustment from manager Vincente del Bosque allowed the Chelsea striker to flourish in the starting lineup.
Ireland made a solid defensive stand throughout the rest of the first half, but Spain found their scoring groove again when Silva nailed a goal in the 49th minute.
Torres scored again in the 70th minute while Fabregas capped an excellent night for Spain with another goal in the 83rd minute mark.
Spain ran their tika-tika system to perfection, firing 26 shots (20 on goals) and getting 8 cornerkick chances.
Ireland, on the other hand, could not break Spain's defense and committed 16 fouls in the Group C match.
Spain improved their slate to 1-1 while Ireland remains winless after two games.
Meanwhile, Italy once again came short at grabbing a victory as the four-time World Cup champion played to a 1-1 draw with Croatia (1-1).
Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo scored the lone goal for Azuri in the 39th minute while Croatia's Mario Mandzukic nailed the equalizer in the 72nd mark.
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