Friendly international

England 0 - Spain 1

Spain beat England 0-1 in Old Trafford in this friendly game, which served as a testing ground for the European championship double header against Denmark and Iceland next month. Luis Aragonés's starting line up contained five Valencia players, and three of them were in action when Villa and Angulo combined to set up Morientes for him to fire the best chance of the first half over the bar. With Puyol and Ramos suspended for the Denmark game, the coach gave Angel and Navarro a run out after the break, and they fitted in well, hardly allowing their hosts a shot at goal throughout the second half. It was another substitute Iniesta who got the only goal though, the Barcelona midfielder collecting the ball on the edge of the area after Ferdinand could only head on Villa's cross to fire an angled shot wide of Foster. A morale booster for next month's games, although Spain still have an uphill battle if they are to reach next year's finals. (07.02.07)