By Fitzgerald Cecilio

Innsbruck, Austria

Spain looked sharp in its preparation for the 2012 Euro Championship, easily toppling down Asian powerhouse South Korea, 4-1, in their friendly match at Tivoli Neu.

Gunning for its second consecutive and third overall European title, the top-ranked Spain still executed their tika-tika system to perfection despite missing key players such as David Villa, Xavi, and Andrés Iniesta.

Spain unleashed a fast and deadly offense right away, keeping South Korea's defense busy as it darted in and out of the penalty box.

The defending European and World Cup champion took the lead after Chelsea's striker Fernando Torres scored on a header off a wonderful cross from Benat Etxebarria in the 11th minute.

South Korea evened things up just before halftime after Kim Do-Heon fired a 25-yard bullet shot into the top right corner of the goal in the 43rd minute.

Unfortunately for the South Koreans, Spain was just starting to heat up.

The Spaniards regained the lead as Xabi Alonso converted a penalty kick goal in the 52nd minute after Nacho Monreal was nailed down by Choi Hyo-Jin inside the box.

Santi Cazorla doubled Spain's advantage four minutes later with a nifty free kick that saw the ball went past beneath the jumping wall of defenders and into the bottom corner of the goal.

The South Koreans had several chances to make the game interesting but Spain's defense proved to be too solid for them to crack.

Álvaro Negredo finally capped the celebration by striking home a beautiful pass from Roberto Soldado in the 79th minute.

Spain fired 20 shots (8 on goal) and had seven corner kicks. The Koreans, meanwhile, riffled 5 goals (2 on goal) and committed 12 fouls in the game.

Spain will take on Italy on June 10 to kick start its Euro Championship defense and face Ireland on June 14 and Croatia on June 18 in a tough Group C bracket.

On the other matches, World Cup runner-up Netherlands also won its friendly match against Slovakia (2-0); Romania nipped Switzerland (1-0); and Sweden edged Iceland (3-2) as the 2012 UEFA Euro gets underway in roughly a week.

Spanish Soccer Squad Unleashes True Form Against South Korea