MADRID, June 17: Goalkeeper Iker Casillas was hailed as Spain’s saviour in Monday’s Spanish newspapers after his match-winning performance against Ireland in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

The 21-year-old Real Madrid player saved one penalty in normal time and then stopped two more in a nail-biting shoot-out on Sunday to ensure victory against a gutsy Irish side.

Spain won 3-2 on penalties after the score was deadlocked at 1-1 following extra-time.

“The hands of God” read the headline in top-selling sports daily Marca alongside a picture of Casillas parrying David Connolly’s spot-kick in the shoot-out.

“Hero” was the single-word headline used by Barcelona’s Mundo Deportivo to describe the young Real player, while rival paper Sport christened him “Saint Iker” on its front page.

National daily El Mundo was amongst many papers to highlight the change in fortunes enjoyed by the self-effacing Spaniard in the space of little more than a month.

“From substitute to national hero in 31 days,” was the title of its eulogy to the Spanish goalkeeper.

Last month Casillas, who had spent the second half of the season sitting on the bench at Real Madrid, replaced the injured Cesar for the last 20 minutes of the Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen.

A string of superb reflex saves allowed his team to maintain their 2-1 lead and made him a hero on the night alongside winning goalscorer Zinedine Zidane.

Despite his lack of match practice, Spain coach Jose Antonio Camacho included Casillas in his World Cup squad as deputy to Santiago Canizares.

However, another twist of fate ensured the former Real Madrid youth keeper began the World Cup first choice after Canizares was ruled out of the tournament following a freak accident.

The Valencia keeper severed a tendon when a shard of glass from a broken aftershave bottle dropped onto his foot after it had shattered against a sink in a hotel bathroom.

Casillas’s father Jose Luis told El Pais that he was confident Iker would keep Spain in the World Cup.—Reuters