RIGA, June 2 (Reuters) - Spain improved their chances of

earning a place in Euro 2008 when they notched up their third

qualifying win in a row with a 2-0 Group F victory in Latvia on

Saturday.

The visitors dominated the opening 45 minutes but it took an

own goal from defender Arturs Zakresevskis on the stroke of

halftime to break the deadlock.

Latvia gave Spain several scares at the start of the second

half but midfielder Xavi put the result beyond doubt when he

beat Aleksandrs Kolinko with a deflected shot just after the

hour.

The win left Spain in third place in the group with 12

points from six games and they will expect to make that 15 when

they meet Liechtenstein in Vaduz next Wednesday.

Defeat for Latvia left them bottom of the group with three

points.

'We were by far the better side, but the problem is that

these sides sit back and defend in numbers so they are often

hard to break down,' Spain coach Luis Aragones told reporters.

'It was really hard to score but when we finally did it was

easier to take control of the match.

'Latvia have some really fast strikers so it was important

to keep a close eye on them.'

Espanyol's debutant striker Luis Garcia almost had a dream

start when he got in front the Latvia defence but fired at

Kolinko.

Spain proceeded to lay siege to the Latvia area for much of

the first half but grew increasingly frustrated as the home side

sat back and packed their defence.

They got the breakthrough, however, when Zakresevskis

bundled into his own net after he tried to block Villa from

reaching a Miguel Angel Angulo cross.

Latvia pushed hard for an equaliser at the start of the

second half, Zakresevskis almost atoning for his own goal when

he headed over the bar from a corner and striker Maris

Verpakovskis firing wide after a lightning break.

But Spain's nerves were settled when a shot from Xavi looped

over Kolinko after a neat lay-off from Roberto Soldado on the

edge of the area.