Spain vs. Honduras, 0-1

[flywoman]

Spain has been mathematically eliminated from the tournament after their second soccer match of the Olympic games, having lost to Japan earlier in the week and yesterday again to Honduras. The injured midfield magician Thiago Alcantara was unable to compete this summer, and it was clear that the team manager had not found a suitable replacement. It was a heartbreaking game to watch as Juan Mata kept taking his chances from behind and shooting wide, multiple shots hit the crossbar or were saved by the Honduras keeper, and the referee failed to call an obvious penalty.

It was also the most aggressive match I've seen outside of the infamous Barcelona-Real Madrid clasicos, with yellow cards galore and multiple incidents of players picking fights with the ref and with each other. In fact, what saddens me more than the results of the match is what poor sports Spain looked, with Iker Muniain and Juan Mata, two of the most experienced players, reacting the least professionally. I know that they must have been terribly frustrated after going into the games among the favorites and then being defeated by two relatively low-profile teams in succession, but that's no excuse :P.