German tanks clash wih Spanish Armada today:

Spanish PM to watch semi-final ‘at home’

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said on Monday he won’t be travelling to South Africa for his country’s World Cup semi-final with Germany due to work pressure and will be watching the match at home on television. German Chancellor Angel Merkel, who was in South Africa to see her country thrash Argentina 4-0 in the quarter-final, has also said she is also unable to travel to Durban for the next round.

Spain will be represented in the stadium in Durban by Queen Sofia, the royal palace announced.

“I will watch the match here, as I have a lot of work and decisions to take in the coming days,” Zapatero said. “I will try and watch it with my family to ease the tension that such matches involving the Spanish team generate, which are very emotional as we have seen recently.” Zapatero added that “Spain is getting better every day and everything points to this semi-final being a great match full of emotion.”

The Spanish government announced recently that cabinet members would reduce their holidays this year in order to devote more time to tackling the country’s economic crisis, which has sent the unemployment rate soaring to more than 20 percent.

MADRID, Tuesday, AFP