LIECHTENSTEIN 0-4 SPAIN, Vaduz, 03/09/10
Torres (2), Villa, Silva

There was no upset in Vaduz tonight as World, European and UFWC champions Spain cruised past Liechtenstein with a comfortable 4-0 win. It wasn’t quite the goal fest that some had predicted, but the Spanish were never anything less than in complete control.

Spain coach Vincente del Bosque named a very strong side, with Fernando Torres and David Villa starting up front. And it was Torres who opened the scoring on 17 minutes, sweeping home a right-foot shot after a pass from Xavi. Strike partner Villa made it two on 26 minutes, but, although Spain were completely dominant, there were no further goals in the first half.

The second period, though, saw Spain continue to dominate, and Torres added a third goal on 55 minutes. The Liverpool striker was substituted moments later, and his replacement David Silva made a swift impact, scoring just after the hour mark.

Spain remained in complete control, but Liechtenstein managed to keep them at bay for the remaining 30 minutes, and the game finished 4-0.

The next UFWC title match is on Tuesday, when Spain travel to Buenos Aires to play the mighty Argentina. The friendly match is being played to celebrate 200 years of Argentina’s May Revolution. For UK viewers, the match is being screened live on ITV4.

The Argentinians are third in the all-time UFWC rankings, but they haven’t held the title since 1998. They’re still without a manager following the departure of Diego Maradona, but, especially at home, they’re likely to provide tough opposition. Can they take the title from Spain? Keep it here to find out.

Match Reports Liechtenstein, Spain

LIECHTENSTEIN vs SPAIN, Vaduz, 03/09/10

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With just hours to go before the next UFWC title match, the question seems to be not, ‘Will Spain will beat Liechtenstein?’, but, ‘How many goals will Spain beat Liechtenstein by?’. On paper it looks like one of the biggest mismatches the UFWC has ever thrown up. (You can read about previous mismatches here.) It may be time to get the abacus out to keep score…

So could tonight’s match end up being the biggest win (or defeat, depending on your perspective) in UFWC history? Spain’s strikers will need to have their very sharpest shooting boots on to achieve that. The biggest winning goal margin that’s ever been managed in UFWC title matches is 11. England beat Ireland 13-2 in 1899, and Scotland beat the Irish 11-0 two years later.

There have also been two 9-0 wins – Scotland beat Wales by that score in 1878, and England beat Ireland with the same scoreline in 1895.

In more recent years, an eight goal margin is the biggest that’s been managed – that was in 1990, when the Netherlands whupped Malta. Russia beat San Marino 7-0 in 1995. And Liechtenstein themselves were involved in a UFWC goal rout in 2000 when they were beaten 8-2 by Germany.

Just four months ago, in the run-up to the World Cup, the Netherlands beat Hungary 6-1. Can Spain match that kind of scoreline tonight?

Outside of the UFWC, Spain’s biggest ever win was 13-0, against Bulgaria in 1933. Liechtenstein’s biggest loss was 11-1 to Macedonia in 1996.

Will Spain set a new UFWC record tonight? Or can Liechtenstein keep the score down – or even pull off the biggest shock results in the history of the UFWC?

Rather than polling on the result of the game, we’re asking how many goals you think Spain will score tonight. make your predictions and post your comments below.

Match Previews Liechtenstein, Spain