Spain

Spain beat Sweden to reach Women's World Cup final

Jorge Vilda’s side will now face either co-hosts Australia or European champions England in Sunday’s final at Sydney’s Stadium Australia, with those two sides going head-to-head in the second semi-final on Wednesday.

Morocco make history as Spain pay the penalty

  • Asensio and Aguerd missed good chances for either side in the first half
  • Morocco were playing their first World Cup knockout game since 1986
  • Sarabia hit the post in the last minute of extra time

Morocco 0-0 Spain (3-1 penalties)

Match review

Morocco made it to the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup™ for the first time after holding their nerve in the penalty shoot-out while Spain lost theirs.

Spain set to declare national lockdown

Under the decree being finalised, people would be allowed out only for emergencies, to buy food, or for work.

With 191 deaths and 6,046 infections, Spain is the worst-hit country in Europe after Italy, which declared a nationwide lockdown on Monday.

The US is extending its European travel ban to the UK and the Republic of Ireland from Monday.

President Donald Trump confirmed the news in answer to a reporter's question at the White House.

On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Europe was now the "epicentre" of the pandemic.

Fabregas I have not retired

The 31-year-old has not played for Spain since their 2-0 defeat to Italy in the last 16 of Euro 2016, having been frozen out by former national team head coach Julen Lopetegui.

The departure of Lopetegui two days before their World Cup opener came too late for Fabregas to have any involvement in the tournament, which saw La Roja surprisingly knocked out by hosts Russia in the second round under interim boss Fernando Hierro.

Spain shocked in shootout

Koke saw his effort saved by Igor Akinfeev, before Iago Aspas's unsuccessful spot kick sent the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow into delirium.

It had all started so well for La Roja - who silenced the Luzhniki in the opening moments - a set-piece providing the opportunity for Spain to take the lead. Sergio Ramos proved a nuisance to Sergei Ignashevich, and the veteran defender turned the ball into his own net.

Spain join list of World Cup shocks

Following the elimination of reigning champions Germany in the group stages and defeats for Argentina and Portugal in Saturday's round of 16 matches, Spain were held to a 1-1 draw at Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday and lost 4-3 on penalties to Russia – the lowest ranked team in the World Cup – who had managed just one shot on target in 120 minutes of football.

Spain 2 Morocco 2

The 2010 champions started Monday on top of Group B but seemed certain to slip below their Iberian rivals in the final table as both matches entered stoppage-time with Portugal and Morocco leading.

Spain went behind when Andres Iniesta and captain Sergio Ramos somehow allowed Khalid Boutaib to seize upon a loose ball and run clear to score Morocco's first goal at the finals since 1998.

Iniesta soon made amends, though, skipping through the Morocco defence to set up Isco for a quickfire leveller, with La Roja unable to break down their opponents despite dominating.

Fortune favours Spain's 'Supermen'

Queiroz had no doubt about the size of the task facing his side when he spoke to the international media on Tuesday, accepting "Iran don't have supermen like Spain, but we can do super things" as he plotted the unlikely downfall of a team battling suggestions of crisis.

For the most part Iran did exactly those "super things" on Wednesday, as they dug deep, held firm and limited Spain's flow of chances. It wasn't pretty, but for long periods it was effective.

Even off the pitch, Iran were astounding.

Portugal 3 Spain 3

Spain led with three minutes to go after Nacho Fernandez hit a wonderful 25-yard drive but Ronaldo was determined to steal the headlines for himself.

And he ended the day with a World Cup match-ball after hitting an outrageous late free-kick to ensure the spoils were shared in this blockbuster clash in Sochi.

Captain Ronaldo had given Portugal a fourth-minute lead from the penalty spot after he was fouled by Madrid team-mate Nacho, restoring the lead thanks to David de Gea's horrible mistake.

Elephants loose on motorway in Murcia, Spain

One of the elephants died from injuries that it sustained, while two others were hurt, local police say.

The injured animals had to be lifted by a crane from the carriageway.

The incident occurred on Monday afternoon in the town of Pozo Cañada near Albacete in the Murcia region. The driver of the truck involved in the crash was not injured.

The vehicle is believed to be a circus lorry.

The director of the government department responsible for Spain's road transport network, Gregorio Serrano, posted a video of the elephant evacuation to social media.