Villa sends Spain into World Cup semis

David Villa fired Spain into the World Cup semi-finals on Saturday after a 1-0 win over Paraguay.

Villa scored his fifth goal of the tournament with just seven minutes remaining to book the Spaniards a semi-final against Germany, 4-0 conquerors of Argentina, in what will be a repeat of the Euro 2008 final won by Spain.

In an extraordinary second half, both sides saw penalties saved in quick succession.

Gerard Pique fouled Paraguayan forward Oscar Cardozo, who then saw Iker Casillas save his kick.

Two minutes later Justo Villar saved a twice-taken kick from Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso after Antolin Alcaraz had fouled Villa.

But Villa had the last laugh as Andres Iniesta found Pedro and although the youngster’s effort hit the post, the tournament’s top scorer bundled in the rebound.