Spain see Germany as perfect rival

POTCHEFSTROOM, South Africa (AP):

Spain expects the high-scoring Germany to be the perfect opponent in the World Cup semi-finals.

Striker David Villa, whose tournament-leading fifth goal helped Spain beat Paraguay 1-0, said Germany's style will allow the European champions to rediscover their so-far subdued attacking game.

"A rival like Germany works better for us than one like we had in Paraguay," said Villa, who is one shy of matching Raul Gonzalez's national record of 44 international goals.

"Germany's a great team with an incredible run of results, always a tough opponent and probably the team in (the) best form at this World Cup. But it's a game of 90 minutes between two great teams and anything can happen."

Germany have so far outscored opponents 13-2 and eliminated England and Argentina along the way.

"Two of the best teams in the World Cup have to play in the semi-final, so unlucky for one of them," said striker Fernando Torres, who again struggled against Paraguay as he continues his return from knee surgery.

"They are an attacking team and they will try to win, try to attack. But we will have more space to go at them."

Torres scored the winning goal in the 1-0 European Championship final against Germany, when Villa missed the match due to injury. Both players will be available for Wednesday's match, although coach Vicente del Bosque said yesterday that Torres may not necessarily start.

Del Bosque insisted the team's style would not change despite having to grind out victories in South Africa, instead of cruising to lopsided wins with their usual flair.

"We just need to stay true to our style ... and show a little more consistency," Del Bosque said yesterday. "(But) we've done things pretty well up to now."

Spain's players expect revenge to be on Germany's mind, even though their style is different, thanks to younger players like Mesut Oezil and Thomas Mueller. But Mueller, who has scored four goals, will miss the match due to suspension.

Best team

"They're the best team at the World Cup, they showed that against Argentina and England and we need to show maximum respect for them," goalkeeper Iker Casillas said. "It won't be an easy game - they will want revenge for the Euro defeat."

But Del Bosque did not believe revenge would be a driving force for a German side that is vastly improved from the one that lost to Spain in Vienna two years ago.

"Two years in football is a long time, a lot of games. (So) to speak about revenge between big teams, that doesn't exist," Del Bosque said. "Nobody looks back. A sportsman always looks forward."