EURO 2008 INFO

Spain scored three second-half goals Thursday in the European Championship to beat Russia, 3-0, and advance to the final for the first time in 24 years.

The Spaniards, who have long been considered one of soccer’s biggest underachievers, will play old rival Germany for the championship on Sunday.

“For many years we haven’t won anything, while Germany is always up there fighting for the titles,” said Xavi Hernández, who scored Spain’s first goal. “So I would say Germany is the favorite.”

Against Russia, Spain used a penetrating passing attack in the pouring rain. Dani Güiza and David Silva also scored to give the Spaniards a shot at their second European title.

Spain, which won the 1964 European tournament, ended its run of five consecutive losses in the quarterfinal round by defeating Italy in a penalty shootout on Sunday.

Spain and Germany have not played a competitive game since the 1994 World Cup. Over all, Germany leads the series by 8-5-6.

Germany beat Turkey, 3-2, on Wednesday night and is seeking its record fourth Euro title.

“This team is already making history, but we can do even more,” the Spanish striker Fernando Torres said. “We’re proud of reaching the final, and against Germany on top of it all, which is a great rival.”

Spain will face Germany without striker David Villa, who was injured while taking a free kick in the first half. Villa, the tournament’s leading scorer with four goals, limped off the field and was replaced by Cesc Fabregas in the 34th minute.

Spain’s coach, Luis Aragonés, said Villa would miss the final.

“It’s not serious,” Aragonés said. “He has a pull.”

German Coach Joachim Löw was asked if Spain compared with Portugal, which the Germans beat in the quarterfinals.

“Spain is a lot better than Portugal,” he said. “It is a lot more flexible and not so predictable. They keep the ball well in their own rows and it’s very hard to intercept. The Spain team shows great ease and it’s very economical.”

Xavi’s goal came in the 50th minute. He slid a ball through for Andres Iniesta, who eluded one defender before unleashing a shot from just inside the box. Xavi followed to side-foot the ball past goalkeeper Igor Akinfeyev.

Two Spanish substitutes combined to make it 2-0 in the 73rd. Fabregas flicked a ball over the top of the defense and Güiza finished with the outside of his right foot, putting the ball high into the net.

Fabregas then slid a pass through for an unmarked Silva inside the box in the 82nd and he ended any hope for Russia.

The Spaniards didn’t seem distracted by reports that Aragonés was set to join the Turkish club Fenerbahce as coach after Euro 2008. They were precise with the ball throughout the game.

“I think in the second half Russia tired a bit and we were able to take advantage of that,” Torres said.

Russia never got its speedy, creative attack on track.

“Our team was physically weaker than Spain,” the playmaker Andrei Arshavin said. “When you don’t have the physical strength, it is tough to get through. You have to rely on tactics. Today, Spain was more technically skilled than us.”

Still, it was a strong tournament for the Russians.

“It was their plan that they were going to make us tired,” Russia’s coach, Guus Hiddink said, adding that his team did not put forth a good effort in the second half. “However, we can be proud of reaching where we did and of coming third,” he said. “We faced really strong opposition tonight, and they deserved to win.”