David Villa
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late equaliser during a World Cup qualifier against Slovakia. A successful season with Valencia saw him get called up as part of the 23-man squad to represent Spain at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Spain's first match at the tournament and Villa's World Cup debut resulted in a 4–0 win against Ukraine where Villa netted a brace, and also put his nation 1–0 up against France in the Round of 16, although Spain went on to lose the match 3–1. He and Fernando Torres finished as Spain's top scorers with three goals each. By the end of 2006, Villa had become an integral part of Luis Aragonés' plans and ousted Raúl from the team. Proving vital in Spain's qualification for Euro 2008, he scored six goals, including a bicycle kick against Liechtenstein. He was subsequently called up for the tournament where he formed a striking relationship with Torres, with whom he would often celebrate his goals. He scored a hat-trick in Spain's 4–1 win over Russia, making him the first player to do so at a UEFA European Championship since Patrick Kluivert in 2000, and only the seventh overall. After the third goal he went out of his way to meet Torres, who was on the bench at the time, to celebrate with him, "I had just scored a hat-trick and I knew people would be talking about me, but I wanted them to see that I had benefited from Torres's work, just as he sometimes benefits from mine. We complement each other very well. We get on well on the pitch and very well off it too. We're a good partnership. We both chase down defenders, put pressure on and fight to
Euro 2008
create chances for each other. We work well together." In the next match, he secured a 2–1 win against Sweden with a goal in the 92nd minute. Rested for the next match against Greece, he started once again in the quarter finals where Spain beat Italy 4–2 on penalties, Villa took the first penalty and scored. Reaching their first semi-final in 24 years, Spain went on to face Russia for the second time during the tournement, however, during the early stages of the match, Villa sustained a thigh injury after taking a free kick and was replaced by Cesc Fàbregas. The injury meant that he could not participate in the final where Spain beat Germany 1–0 to claim their second win at the European Football Championships. Despite missing the final and the majority of the semi-final, Villa's 4 goals in the 4 games he played were enough for him to be top scorer of the tournament and was awarded the Golden Boot. He also made the UEFA Euro 2008 Team of the Tournament alongside striking partner Torres. Spain's first match during qualification for the 2010 World Cup was against Bosnia and Herzegovina where Villa scored the only goal of the game. He would go on to score four goals in Spain's next three games, including a last minute winner against Belgium. Another goal during a friendly match against Chile saw
2009 Confederations Cup and World Cup 2010 qualification