2 Jul 2012

Spain win Euro 2012

8:57 am on 2 July 2012

Spain beat Italy 4-0 in the European championship football final in Kiev, Ukraine.

The scorers were David Silva in the 14th minute and Jordi Alba four minutes before halftime. Fernando Torres scored the third in the 84th minute.

Juan Mata was next in the 88th minute after a break by Torres.

Torres is the first player to score in two Euro finals.

Italy was down to 10 men for the final half-hour.

Spain previously won the European championship trophy in 2008 and the World Cup in 2010.

They are the first team to win consecutive European championships.

Italy was seeking their second Euro championship.

Path to the final

Spain beat Portugal 4-2 on penalties in the semi-finals and Italy beat Germany, 2-1.

Good weather was forecast for the match which began at 7.45pm on Sunday.

The referee was Pedro Proenca of Portugal.

Italy and Spain were facing each other for the 31st time. The Azzurri have 10 wins and Spain have nine. There have been 12 draws.

The Euro 2012 tournament hosted jointly by Ukraine and Poland, has been the biggest sports event in eastern Europe since the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

No disturbances were reported during a rehearsal at the public fan zone in Kiev on Saturday when about 100,000 fans attended a joint gig by Elton John and Queen. Up to 140,000 people were expected there on Sunday.