Spanish forward Fernando Torres celebrates after scoring against the Republic of Ireland in Gdansk on Thursday. Spain won 4-0. — AFP

The Spanish supporters were chanting Torres's name as the clock ticked towards fulltime but the Irish were still singing the loudest at the end.

Spain vindicated, says Xavi

Spanish midfielder Xavi said the whole team, not just back-to-form striker Fernando Torres, had emerged strengthened by Thursday's 4-0 Euro 2012 flattening of Ireland.

"It's a great result for the confidence of the group. The boss ( Vicente Del Bosque) is strengthened by it and so is el Nino (Torres) because he participated in the game and scored two goals and in general we all come out stronger," said the Barcelona midfield general.

Xavi said in the opening draw against Italy the team had not played badly but had suffered from a dry pitch which did not help their high tempo passing game.

"There we had the problem of the (long) grass and also we were playing Italy, so it was a match between the last two world champions," said Xavi.

But he insisted "the philosophy is not negotiable" and Spain would not change their style.

Manchester City's David Silva, also on target along with Cesc Fabregas, also said that confidence was on a high.

"This result will give confidence a boost - after the Italy game a lot of things were said," he noted, in allusion to Spain's rather laboured and cautious approach with Torres benched until the closing stages.

A psychological blow: Trapattoni

Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni has admitted his team have suffered "a psychological blow" in the wake of their 4-0 defeat to Spain, but insisted they will finish Euro 2012 with heads held high.

Spain's Fernando Torres scored twice on Thursday as the Irish were routed in Gdansk, Poland, with Manchester City's David Silva and Barcelona's Cesc Fabregas also finding the net.

As they had done in their opening defeat to Croatia, Ireland conceded a goal within minutes of the kick-off against Spain as the world and defending European champions attacked Ireland's goal in torrents

"The mistakes we made here means we have suffered a bit of a psychological blow," said the 73-year-old Italian as Ireland suffered their worst competitive defeat in 41 years since they were hammered 6-0 by Austria in 1971. "We don't see fear in training or in our preparations for the tournament, I don't see tensions in the side.” — Agencies

Poznan, June 15
Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic struck his third goal of Euro 2012 to earn a 1-1 draw against Italy who let their opponents off the hook after taking the lead in the Group C match on Thursday.

Playmaker Andrea Pirlo put Italy ahead with a majestic free kick six minutes before the break, rewarding their early dominance after they carved out a hatful of chances. It was the first European Championship goal scored direct from a free kick since 2004.

Slaven Bilic's Croatia team have four points from two games in Group C while Italy have two points. Spain, who have one point, face pointless Ireland in Gdansk later on Thursday.

Croatia, however, could find themselves in trouble after their fans repeatedly threw flares onto the field, at one point leaving a pall of smoke hanging over the penalty area. Bilic said: "Italy showed once again they're an exceptional team but I have to congratulate my team for showing willpower and character to fight back in the second half."

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli added: "We're up for it, the team is alive and we will fight right to the end. We had good chances in the first half, we could have done better. We lacked a bit of grit and energy." — Reuters

Wroclaw, June 15
With a place in the quarterfinals at stake, Poland is ready to make history against the Czech Republic. The Euro 2012 co-hosts will be seeking their first victory of the tournament -- and first quarterfinal berth ever at the European Championships -- tomorrow at the Municipal Stadium following a pair of 1-1 draws against Greece and Russia in Group A.

"It's going to be a mini final for us," Poland captain Jakub Blaszczykowski said. "It'll be the biggest match in the recent past for all of us." The Czechs are one point ahead of Poland after beating Greece 2-1 to revive their chances of advancing following an opening 4-1 loss to Russia.

A win for either team would put them through. The Czechs, however, could be missing captain Tomas Rosicky because of an Achilles tendon injury.

The hooliganism that took place around Poland's emotionally charged match against Russia on Tuesday is not expected to be repeated Saturday. Unlike the Poland-Russia relations that are tense due to a bitter and bloody history, the Poles have an easier relationship with their southern Slavonic neighbors and have treated them accordingly.

The mayor of Wroclaw, where the Czechs are based and play all three group matches, hosted a lunch for the team at City Hall and thousands of Polish fans attended open training sessions, cheering the Czech players and applauding every goal in practice matches. — AP 

Krakow, June 15
Given their league is mired in another match-fixing scandal, Italians assume others indulge in underhand tactics and the fear that Spain and Croatia will contrive a 2-2 draw to knock the Azzurri out of Euro 2012 is growing apace.

In a media obsessed with soccer conspiracy theories, which they bizarrely call “biscuits”, are common.

A win over Ireland and their Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni in the final Group C game on Monday would be enough for Italy to make the quarter-finals in second place if Spain or Croatia win the other match.

However, a draw makes the situation complicated because all three teams would be level on five points and head to head record is the deciding factor, with Italy having drawn 1-1 with both.

All three would have the same points in the mini-league and a zero goal difference so goals scored becomes all important. A 0-0 stalemate between Spain and Croatia means Italy are through with a win against the Irish while a 1-1 draw brings goal difference in the entire group into the equation. A 2-2 or higher scoring draw between Spain and Croatia, though, and Italy are out as on head to heads the other two will have scored more goals.

Almost every player was asked by reporters about the chances of a fix on Thursday. “I don't fear the biscuit,” goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon said.

Italy's paranoia over conspiracy theories stems from the 2002 World Cup when they were eliminated in the second round after a defeat by South Korea. — Reuters

Warsaw, June 15
With the defense-minded Greeks knowing only victory over an attack-oriented Russia squad will get them into the European Championship quarterfinals, tomorrow's match could see a reversal of roles.

"It will be a very sharp game from both sides," Russia coach Dick Advocaat said. "They have to win. A draw is enough for us." The omens are not good for Greece, which has lost to Russia in the last two European Championships. Russia was the only team to beat Greece on its run to the Euro 2004 title.

At Euro 2012, Russia is the top scoring team with five goals in two matches, three of them from young star Alan Dzagoev.

The CSKA Moscow attacking midfielder had only scored four goals in 20 matches coming into the tournament but has nearly doubled that tally already, finding the net twice against the Czech Republic and again against Poland in Group A.

Greece coach Fernando Santos said he doesn't expect the Russians to abandon their attacking style of play.

"The Russians may only need a draw, but I don't see why they should change their style," Santos said. "Most big teams don't need to anyway. Dzagoev is a very good player, but Russia has many quality players." Santos has promised changes to Greece's starting lineup for the match at the National Stadium in Warsaw. — AP

It will be the first time in India that so many Olympic gold medallists will be felicitated at one platform. “It is our way of recalling and recognising the contribution of these legends to our sport and to the country,” Narinder Batra said. — TNS 

Jalandhar, June 15
Scaling new heights in her career, constable Rajwant Kaur Sahota from the Punjab Armed Police (PAP), Jalandhar, bagged a gold medal in the Commonwealth Weightlifting (Men & Women) championship held at Samoa in New Zealand. The event was held from May 22 to 26.

Rajwant stood first in the senior women’s 63kg weight category, which saw a tough competition from weightlifters of fellow nations like Samoa, New Zealand, England and Fila. She was proud to announce an excellent gold rush of seven medals by senior women team. Indian women competed with weightlifters from 19 countries.

The weightlifter, who was already undergoing training in the Olympic camp being held National Institute of Sports (NIS), Patiala termed this success as a big boost in career. This evening she was honoured by PAP ADGP, G.S. Sahota with a cash award of Rs 21,000, a sports kit and certificate.

Talking to The Tribune, Rajwant said, “The weightlifters from Samoa, New Zealand and England had excellent stamina in the sport. Though Indian women have also proved their mettle, but that’s something in the past, and I need to improve further,” she said.

Rajwant has been practising weightlifting since class 9th but she took up the game professionally took during her graduation at BBK DAV College, Amritsar.

“Earlier we used to go for weightlifting sessions at Ramgarhia College, Phagwara. But, now world class facilities would be made available to us at my home cadre,” she maintained.

ADGP Sahota maintained that the weightlifting station would be started soon on the lines of those in Haryana. “We would provide world class infrastructure to our weightlifters. Haryana has become a name to reckon with in weightlifting, wrestling and boxing events. Now, our weightlifters would also get similar training facilities, which in turn ensure good medal rush in state, nation and international events,” he said. 

Krakow, June 15
Ukraine's Euro 2012 Group D match against France was suspended for 55 minutes because of a thunderstorm on Friday before resuming at 0-0 after the rain eased and groundstaff worked wonders on the soaked pitch. 

Lightning flashes lit up the Donbass Arena in Donetsk and enormous claps of thunder drowned out the anthems before the referee took the players off after five minutes of slippery play and fans in uncovered seats scampered up the stands. 

A near torrent of bad news continued to hit the biggest multi-city sporting event ever held in Eastern Europe. The disturbing underbelly of the tournament, co-hosted by Ukraine and Poland, was again in focus with European soccer's governing body UEFA continuing its almost daily ritual of opening investigations and fining nations for crowd disturbances. 

A probe over reports of banana throwing at Thursday's 1-1 draw between Croatia and Italy, who started with black striker Mario Balotelli, was the latest grim update but on the positive side, the football has generally been sparkling. 

The game in Donetsk was unlikely to be a classic given the early upheaval and rain but the pitch looked remarkably dry when they restarted. 

Purists will also fear the flowing soccer seen on previous days might not continue in Friday's late Group D game between England and Sweden, whose strengths lie in organisation and doggedness rather than flair. — Reuters