ARGENTINA 4-1 SPAIN, Buenos Aires, 07/09/10
Messi, Higuain, Tevez, Aguera (Argentina); Llorente (Spain)

Spain are no longer the best team in the world. Argentina impressively won this entertaining match 4-1 to take the UFWC title and become Unofficial Football World Champions.

The match had been arranged to commemorate Argentinian independence from Spain. And, 200 years later, this latest band of Spanish conquistadors were sent packing by an impressive Argentinian side.

Argentina’s caretaker coach Sergio Batista has restored Esteban Cambiasso and Javier Zanetti to the international side, with the pair having been ignored by Diego Maradona for the World Cup campaign. Against Spain, Batista went with a front three of Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain and Lionel Messi. All three scored.

Spain’s Vincente Del Bosque dropped Fernando Torres, and played David Villa as a lone striker, supported by Cesc Fabregas, David Silva and Andres Iniesta. Xavi was left on the bench alongside Torres. Crucially, Del Bosque also left Iker Casillas on the bench, playing Pepe Reina in goal. It would be a match to forget for the Liverpool keeper.

Argentina coach Sergio Batista revealed before kick-off that he had forbidden Lionel Messi from dropping back into his own half, ordering him to concentrate on attacking Spain. And, after just 10 minutes, Messi led a counter-attack from the halfway line, exchanged passes with Tevez, and chipped the ball over Reina into the Spanish net.

Gonzalo Higuain made it 2-0 to Argentina four minutes later, racing onto a Tevez through ball to score from a tight angle.

Amazingly, on 34 minutes it was 3-0, with Reina slipping when dealing with a backpass, and Tevez nipping in to capitalise on a horrible goalkeeping error.

Spain actually played some decent football, and David Villa twice hit the woodwork from long range, but Argentina’s clinical attacking play had prevailed, and it was 3-0 at half-time.

Del Bosque made two changes during the break, taking off Silva and – surprisingly – Villa, and bringing on Fernando Llorente and Jesus Navas. Shortly into the second half, Reina was replaced by Victor Valdes. Xavi came on for Fabregas soon after.

Argentina waited until the 60th minute to make a change – with Tevez replaced by Angel Di Maria. And Di Maria put the ball in the net with his first touch, rifling home from a Messi through ball – only to be (correctly) flagged offside.

Both sides made further substitutions as the game drew to a close, with Kun Aguero coming on for Argentina, and Pedro and Santi Cazorla for Spain. Cazorla had a couple of half chances for Spain, forcing two good saves from Argentina keeper Sergio Romero.

Spain finally got some reward for a much improved second half performance with six minutes left to play, when a neat move was finished off by Llorente. Cazorla then had a shot cleared off the line.

But it was Argentina who scored the next goal, with Aguero heading home a Garbiel Heinze cross.

The match ended 4-1 – an open and enjoyable game, in which both sides played their part, but Spain paid the price for failing to keep a lid on Argentina’s forward line in the first half.

So Argentina are the new UFWC champions. This was the country’s 51st title match victory. Argentina’s next match is a friendly in Japan on 8 October, and that’s followed by a clash with Brazil in November. We’ll be tracking the progress of the new champions right here over the coming weeks.

Match Reports Argentina, Spain

ARGENTINA vs SPAIN, Buenos Aires, 07/09/10

UFWC champions Spain are back in the Americas today, and will face the toughest test of their current reign. Argentina are the opposition, and are looking to bounce back from World Cup disappointment under caretaker coach Sergio Batista.

The match is being played to commemorate 200 years of Argentinian independence – the country was a Spanish colony until 1810. It’s a busy time for Spain – they were in Mexico last month to commemorate that country’s independence. Very cordial of the Spanish, but could this second long-haul journey in less than a month prove to be a trip too far for the UFWC champs?

Argentina are the most successful non-British team in UFWC history. Spain’s 4-0 victory over Liechtenstein last week was their 17th UFWC win and moved them to 11th in the all-time rankings table. But Argentina have won a massive 50 UFWC title matches – only international football stalwarts Scotland and England can match that total.

The Argentinians haven’t played a UFWC title match since 2003, when they lost 1-0 to the Netherlands. The two sides have met twice before in the UFWC – in 1961, when Spain, led by Argentinian-born Alfredo di Stefano, won 2-1, and in 1971, when Spain won 1-0. Could it be third time lucky for Argentina?

Sergio Batista has recalled defender Javier Zanetti and midfielder Esteban Cambiasso, both ignored by Diego Maradona at the World Cup, into the Argentina side. Andres D’Alessandro should also be back in the starting eleven. Diego Milito will partner Carlos Tevez up front, and Spain will of course be paying close attention to the service they will receive from Lionel Messi.

Spain are likely to start with the same team that saw off Liechtenstein on Friday, with Fernando Torres and David Villa upfront, and Xavi, Alonso, Busquets and Iniesta across the middle.

It looks like being a great match between two sides full of attacking potential. The match is being televised in the UK on ITV4. Coverage begins at 20.45. Kick-off is at 21.00.

Can Spain retain the UFWC title, or will Argentina snatch it from them? Make your prediction and post your comments below, and tune in tonight to find out.

Match Previews Argentina, Spain

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

Full preview here

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