Spain waltzed past a disappointingly unambitious France side in Donetsk to set up a Euro 2012 semi-final meeting with Portugal. 
Xabi Alonso headed in a Jordi Alba cross after twenty minutes to put a commanding Spain side ahead. France struggled to make a mark and only conjured a rare threat when right-back Mathieu Debuchy headed a Franck Ribery cross over. Spain comfortably saw out a one-sided second-half and sealed the win with a ninety first-minute Alonso penalty.
Police say that about six thousand England fans are expected in Kiev for Sunday's Euro 2012 quarter-final against Italy. British Airways is using larger-than-normal aircraft for flights to Ukraine as more fans scramble to see England in the tournament's knock-out stage. During the team's group games, the official England following was around three thousand. Assistant Chief Constable Andy Holt, the police liaison officer in Ukraine, said there had not been a single arrest of England fans during the tournament so far. Holt, representing the Association of Chief Police Officers, said: 'We will have officers at the airport to meet and greet fans as they arrive at the airport, we have officers in uniform here in the centre of Kiev, out and about talking to fans, letting them see that there's a British police presence. But as the night moves on, we move into plain clothes and we're able to, if necessary, spot any problems that are occurring and advise our Ukrainian colleagues as to how perhaps they should best tackle any problems to stop them escalating.' But he said that so far there had been no sign of any misbehaviour from England fans. On Friday airlines reported a surge in sales of tickets to Kiev. Some English fans are also booking flights to Warsaw, for a potential semi-final clash with Germany. England fans are expected to outnumber the Italians, who do not traditionally follow the national team abroad in great numbers. There will be no UK government ministers at the match. Downing Street has said there are still concerns about the rule of law and selective justice in Ukraine. Although, there's also a fair bit of the latter over here too.
Xabi Alonso headed in a Jordi Alba cross after twenty minutes to put a commanding Spain side ahead. France struggled to make a mark and only conjured a rare threat when right-back Mathieu Debuchy headed a Franck Ribery cross over. Spain comfortably saw out a one-sided second-half and sealed the win with a ninety first-minute Alonso penalty.Police say that about six thousand England fans are expected in Kiev for Sunday's Euro 2012 quarter-final against Italy. British Airways is using larger-than-normal aircraft for flights to Ukraine as more fans scramble to see England in the tournament's knock-out stage. During the team's group games, the official England following was around three thousand. Assistant Chief Constable Andy Holt, the police liaison officer in Ukraine, said there had not been a single arrest of England fans during the tournament so far. Holt, representing the Association of Chief Police Officers, said: 'We will have officers at the airport to meet and greet fans as they arrive at the airport, we have officers in uniform here in the centre of Kiev, out and about talking to fans, letting them see that there's a British police presence. But as the night moves on, we move into plain clothes and we're able to, if necessary, spot any problems that are occurring and advise our Ukrainian colleagues as to how perhaps they should best tackle any problems to stop them escalating.' But he said that so far there had been no sign of any misbehaviour from England fans. On Friday airlines reported a surge in sales of tickets to Kiev. Some English fans are also booking flights to Warsaw, for a potential semi-final clash with Germany. England fans are expected to outnumber the Italians, who do not traditionally follow the national team abroad in great numbers. There will be no UK government ministers at the match. Downing Street has said there are still concerns about the rule of law and selective justice in Ukraine. Although, there's also a fair bit of the latter over here too.
