SPAIN 2 FRANCE 0

Buffon: England and Italy have similar qualities

The Azzurri goalkeeper believes the two teams are evenly matched, and is anticipating a closely-fought encounter when they go head-to-head in the Euro 2012 quaterfinals on Sunday.

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Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon feels that his side's Euro 2012 quarterfinal meeting withEngland on Sunday will be a very close affair because the two sides are similar in quality.

Both nations are unbeaten in the tournament so far and will meet in Kiev with a semifinal fixture against Germany up for grabs, and Buffon believes that the match will be decided by the narrowest of margins on the day.

"It will certainly be close because the sides have very similar qualities," he told UEFA.com. "I think the difference between the two sides will be very, very, very subtle indeed.

"England have always had players of great individual ability. They have not managed to win anything major in recent years, sometimes through bad luck. They have been knocked out in penalty shootouts a few times. But this year I think they have three or four world-class talents like [John] Terry, [Ashley] Cole, [Wayne] Rooney, [Steven] Gerrard, and we respect them a lot and know it will be a very hard match."

Buffon also paid tribute to his opposite number for Sunday's clash, adding that he felt England goalkeeper Joe Hart could now be considered a top-class player.

"Hart, along with [Manuel] Neuer, [Hugo] Lloris and our own [Salvatore] Sirigu, is no longer just an emerging goalkeeper, but is now established as someone who always plays well and can be a determining factor for his team. He deserves my compliments."

Spain is many pundits' favorite to win Euro 2012, and while Buffon feels the same, he also says that his teammates will prove tough opposition for whoever they face.

"[Italy has] a nice squad, we are all united for the same cause, but it's also true to say that for the last four years there has been a side that is considerably better than the rest, and that is Spain.

"In my opinion they are certainly favorites. Italy, though, are very hard to beat."

Spain 2-0 France: Alonso marks 100th cap with match winning double

Two goals from the Real Madrid midfielder provided the difference as La Furia Roja secured their first ever competitive win over Les Bleus who proved extremely unadventurous.

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Spain set up an all-Iberian semifinal with Portugal as the team earned a 2-0 win over France with a workmanlike display in the last eight at the Donbass Arena.

France rarely posed a threat as La Furia Roja bossed the game in large parts, opening the scoring midway through the first half as Xabi Alonso headed in on the day he completed a century of international appearances. Despite an improved performance in the second half Les Bleus failed to find a breakthrough and received a sucker punch when Alonso slotted home from the penalty spot in second half stoppage tim

In an attempt to stifle the typically fluid and creative Spaniards, Laurent Blanc opted to begin with Mathieu Debuchy in front of Anthony Reveillere on the right in order to help protect against Andres Iniesta and Jordi Alba. Samir Nasri started among the substitutes amid rumors of infighting for a fairly conservative looking French team.

Spain controlled the ball from kickoff, passing it across the field and probing for an opening that proved elusive until the 19th minute. Blanc will have been furious that when Spain did create an opportunity it came down his side's supposedly fortified right. Iniesta threaded a pass to the overlapping Alba and he looked up and picked out Alonso at the back post where he headed the ball back across goal and into the far corner.

Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema were doing their best to provide a moment of respite for their side but for all their endeavor they frequently found themselves running into dead ends and handing the ball straight back to the opposition.

In the 35th minute Les Bleus got their first shot on target from a free kick after Sergio Ramos felled Benzema. Yohan Cabaye struck the ball from 35 yards and it looked destined for the top left corner but Iker Casillas got a palm to it to stop it from hitting the net.

For all their possession La Roja were once again creating very little. A give-and-go between Iniesta and Fabregas enabled the former to get in behind the defense but his effort was blocked by a recovering Laurent Koscielny on his competitive debut for France.

France returned from the break in a far more positive manner. The team was combative in midfield and began to commit greater numbers forward when on the ball. With an hour played Ribery worked some space on the left and clipped a cross into the middle. Debuchy met it in the center of the box but his header sailed narrowly over the bar.

With Spain reducing the urgency and the tempo of the game Blanc sensed the momentum swinging the way of his side and made two attacking substitutes, replacing Debuchy and Florent Malouda with Jeremy Menez and Nasri.

All night France had allowed Alvaro Arbeloa a lot of freedom on the right in an attempt to provide Ribery with more space in behind him on the left flank. This almost paid dividends in the 71st minute when the Bayern Munich winger charged forwards and drilled a dangerous cross into the six-yard box but Casillas got a hand to it and gathered at the second attempt.

The substitutes failed to have the desired impact on the game however as the Spanish defense remained tight. Del Bosque's side was awarded a penalty in stoppage time when Reveillere brought Pedro down in the area. Alonso stepped up and converted from 12 yards, sending Hugo Lloris the wrong way.

Spain now has three days of rest until it returns to Donetsk to face Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in the semifinal. France will turn its attention to the World Cup qualifying campaign where it will face La Roja twice, with the first fixture coming in October.