Ireland knocked out by Spain

Torres’ powerful finish from 10 yards opened the scoring inside four minutes.

Friday, June 15, 2012
Torre sscored twice as Spain knocked Republic of Ireland out of Euro 2012 with a dominant display.

Torres’ powerful finish from 10 yards opened the scoring inside four minutes.David Silva’s composed effort just after the restart doubled the advantage, Torres poked in a third after a quick break and substitute Cesc Fabregas drove in a fourth.The victory was enough to move Spain above Croatia, who they face on Monday, at the top of Group C.The Republic’s performance in their first major tournament in a decade can be summed up by the fact that, including their 3-1 defeat to Croatia, they have conceded a goal inside four minutes at the start of each half they have played.Before their sobering loss to Croatia, the Irish had never conceded three goals in a major competition but they have now done so twice in five days on the way to losing consecutive matches in a major tournament for the first time.For Spain, who drew their opening game 1-1 with Italy, this was a ruthless reminder of their ambition to become the first team to win three consecutive major tournaments, 24 hours after Germany drew the focus with a 2-1 victory over the Netherlands.