Villa8217;s injury won8217;t hamper final chances: Coach

8220;I don8217;t think it will be a big problem for us,8221; said Xabi Alonso, a second-half substitute in Spain8217;s 3-0 semifinal win over Russia on Thursday. 8220;Whoever is coming from the bench is doing a great job and that is as important as who is starting.8221;

Villa, who8217;s scored the only hat trick at Euro 2008 against Russia in Spain8217;s 4-1 win in the group stage two weeks ago, said he would likely miss the final after pulling a hamstring muscle while taking a free kick in the first half at Ernst Happel Stadium.

8220;I8217;m a little sad that I won8217;t be there to take part, but it8217;s better that a team-mate who is fit plays instead of me, particularly as my injury has left me limping quite badly,8221; Villa said.

Spain8217;s team doctor Jesus Jimenez said Friday that Villa has a small rupture in his right hamstring that will take between five-to-10 days to heal. 8220;He8217;s been ruled out of the final,8221; Jimenez told reporters.

Midfielder Santi Cazorla said Spain had enough reserve talent to adjust to the situation. 8220;We have great players in every position. Whoever plays will do a good job,8221; Cazorla said.

Coach Luis Aragones inserted Cesc Fabregas to replace Villa and boost Spain8217;s midfield, leaving Fernando Torres as the sole attacker. The move worked, with Spain scoring three goals in the second half, two of them set up by Fabregas.

Aragones was confident his team could beat the Germans, saying he didn8217;t think they played that well in their semi-final against Turkey. 8220;They were not that strong against the Turks, but they have great players up front,8221; Aragones said Friday outside the team8217;s hotel in Vienna.

Alonso said Spain was 8220;delighted8221; with its performance against Russia. 8220;The result was brilliant,8221; he said. 8220;Hopefully on Sunday, we will repeat another performance like that. Let8217;s hope we can play a good match and lift the cup, which would be historic.8221;

Spain has only won one major title: the 1964 European Championship. It reached the final of the same tournament 20 years later, but lost to France.

Germany, on the other hand, has been crowned European champion three times and world champion another three. Furthermore, Spain has only beaten Germany once in seven competitive matches, with four victories for the Germans and two draws.