Spain look to restore feel-good factor

SPAIN go into their grudge match semi-final against neighbours Portugal today hoping to pull in yet another bumper TV audience.

A Spanish record 18.14 million viewers tuned in to watch the final moments of Spain’s tense 1-0 win over Croatia, a peak that surpassed even Spain’s victory in the 2010 World Cup final.

The whopping 78.2 per cent audience share on Telecinco dropped slightly to 76.7 per cent for the quarter final win over France on Saturday, peaking at 12.6 million.

But Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque is hopeful Spain can help restore the feel-good factor to the country during the economic crisis.

“I think we can give people delight at a difficult time,” said Del Bosque.