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‘Penta-campeon’ or 5-time champion and eternal favorite Brazil is one of the few teams that announced the squad of 23 players for the world cup with a month to go before the show-piece in South Africa kicks off on June 11th.
Coach Dunga announced a squad full of consistent performers, physically very strong players mirroring his own personality, very unlike the stereotype image of ‘jogo bonito’ (the beautiful game). Kaka to a large extent and Robinho/Nilmar to a lesser extent will add the creative element to an otherwise bland side. The exclusion of Ronaldinho surprised many, especially considering that he has been in good form for AC Milan all through the season. Exclusion of Adriano was largely expected, considering the train-wreck that he is. Lots of supporters in Brazil wanted him to name the young and very talented duo of Santos, Ganso and Neymar but Dunga resisted the temptation and instead went for a set of players who fit his mould and rewarded those who have consistently performed over the past few years.
Playing style
Caveat: This is not your stereotype Brazilian outfit. Brazil will employ a classic 4-4-2 switching to a 4-3-1-2 every now and then. At the top, a big centre-forward Luis Fabiano (Sevilla) or Grafite (Wolfsburg) will be supported by Robinho who will be given a free role just behind the centre-forward. Kaka will play in the most advanced position in the midfield and will make his trademark powerful runs to the edge of the box with ample options to pass or shoot. One wonders if he has fully recovered from the long injury lay-off at his club Real Madrid but apart from that, Brazil’s hopes largely rest on the shoulders of Kaka. And opposition teams are well aware of this fact.
At the back Lucio and Juan will start in central defence with Bastos and Maicon as the left and right fullbacks. It is a pity that Dani Alves the dynamic right back of Barcelona will be forced to start on the bench. Pep Guardiola at Barcelona has tried Dani Alves on the right side of the midfield in a few games, and the results were mixed. I don’t think Dunga will be that adventurous but he might consider the option in case of suspensions or injuries. The midfield will include the hardworking Ramires, Kaka, Gilberto and either Felipe Melo or Elano.
The main problem for Brazil is the over-dependence on Kaka to do all creative duties and a lot depends on Robinho to attract the fullbacks and the central defenders of the opposition to make way for Kaka to making his runs in the final third of the pitch. Opposition teams will try to hurry Kaka into passing the ball and reduce his effectiveness.
Secondly Brazil is in the toughest group of the world cup alongside a strong Portugal and a very dangerous Cote d’Ivoire, and the complete unknown that is North Korea. I see this group won’t be decided until the last group match, where Brazil takes on Portugal. And to top that whoever comes 2nd in Group G will most likely get to face Spain in the 2nd round.
Finally Brazil don’t have cover for Kaka on the bench. They have to play different style if Kaka has an off day or he cannot play due to injuries. The methodical Dunga will have a plan B but the question is, will it work?
Prediction
Brazil is in the toughest group in the tough lower half of the draw. I won’t be surprised if the fail to advance from Group G, however it is unthinkable.
I believe Brazil could go all the way to the finals if they don’t meet Spain in Round 2. If they end up running to Spain in the 2nd round, I see about 30% chances that they advance.
Prediction (avoiding Spain): Final
Prediction (Spain in 2nd round): 2nd round elimination
Team Bus Slogan: Lotado! O Brasil inteiro está aqui dentro! (The whole of Brazil is in here!)
Rating: 7/10. Imaginative.
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Showing posts with label World Cup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World Cup. Show all posts
31.5.10
World Cup Preview #4: México
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México - Can ‘El Trí’ overcome their 2nd round blues?
After a bad start to the qualifying campaign under Sven Goran Eriksson, Javier Aguirre returned for a second stint with “El Trí” and ensured that México qualified with games to spare. In the process he built a team which is a goof mix of veterans like Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Rafa Marquez, Gerardo Torrado and exciting young players like Javier Hernandez (Man.United), Carlos Vela (Arsenal).
México has always played well in the group stages of the world cup. The usually get eliminated in the 2nd round. The two occasions on which they advanced to quarterfinals in 70 & 86, they were the hosts. The Mexican people support their team passionately and have high hopes. Having had the opportunity to live in México, I can vouch that the hype and expectations are comparable to those in India for cricket.
In the 90s the Mexican national team used to be made of primarily homegrown players from the Mexican league, probably the richest league outside the big European leagues. It has been changing a lot in the past decade, especially ever since Rafa Marquez moved to FC Barcelona. No almost half of the players in the team play in big leagues of Europe. Added to the mix, Javier Aguirre who has been very successful, this is a very well drilled team with a lot of exposure to the top players in the world.
Style of Play
México traditionally are very good with the ball. Slick passing by the pivots in the midfield, skillful wingers stuck to the touch-lines going up and down plus a host of good 2nd striker kind of players who play behind the center-forward. What they usually lack are quality strikers, the center-forwards in particular.
Depending on the opponent, they usually switch between a 3-5-2 formation against the more accomplished teams or a 4-5-1 (or a 4-1-4-1 with Marquez anchoring in front of the defence) against teams that are not good at possession. Two holding midfielders in the midfield like Rafa Marquez and Torrado play in front of the 3 central defenders Salcido, Osorio and Francisco Rodriguez. Andres Guardado will be play on the left wing and is a very good at the classic wing play as well as shoot from medium distance. Alberto Medina or Carlos Vela will do the same on the right side (or sometimes play as the 2nd striker). Guillermo Franco or the young Javier Hernandez will likely be alone up front with Giovanni Dos Santos/Cuauhtémoc Blanco in 2nd striker/free role. You will see México keeping the ball for long periods in the game even against accomplished sides.
Problems
México is one of the few teams who have been training together as a team (except those playing in the European Leagues) since April. They have played a bunch of friendlies against African nations to prepare for their first opponent South Africa and close out with a series of games against the top sides in Europe like England, Netherlands among others. This is a definitely a positive for México.
One of the causes of concern is the lack of enough quality in front of the goal. It was evident at the recent friendly against England at Wembley. México dominated possession in both halves of the game and created a lot of chances but failed to capitalize and were soundly beaten in the end. The lack of directness, rather the lack of a plan B to switch to a more direct approach should their plan A isn’t working has been the undoing of México for years.
The 2nd biggest issue is the lack of size, most of the players are small and they can be overpowered at times, especially while defending set pieces.
Depending on the their strengths oppositions will either counterattack by soaking up the Mexican possession and try to win free kicks close to the 18 yard box. If México falls behind their style of play makes is doubly difficult for them to come back. On the same coin if they take an early lead they can run away with the game against the best of them. A lot depends on the finish of Javier Hernandez and the experienced Guillermo Franco. Blanco will be primarily used as an impact sub in the 2nd half, at 35+ he doesn’t have the legs of the past but his vision and the reading of the game are still intact and can unleash a great pass at any time.
Prediction
México are in an open group with no clear favorites. South Africa, France and Uruguay do not necessarily strike fear, but at the same time each of them will be feeling very good about their chances. They could run into bitter rivals Argentina in the 2nd round, a repeat of the 2nd round cracker in 2006 which the Argentinians won through a wonder goal from Maxi Rodriguez in overtime.
I predict México to breakthrough their wall and make it to Quarter-final. With a few lucky breaks with the draw, I won’t be surprised if they make it to the semi-finals because they are in the easier half of the draw.
Team Bus Slogan: ¡Es tiempo de un nuevo campeón! (It is time for a new champion).
Slogan Rating: 8/10. Bold and positive.
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Argentina
England
Spain
Brazil
México - Can ‘El Trí’ overcome their 2nd round blues?
After a bad start to the qualifying campaign under Sven Goran Eriksson, Javier Aguirre returned for a second stint with “El Trí” and ensured that México qualified with games to spare. In the process he built a team which is a goof mix of veterans like Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Rafa Marquez, Gerardo Torrado and exciting young players like Javier Hernandez (Man.United), Carlos Vela (Arsenal).
México has always played well in the group stages of the world cup. The usually get eliminated in the 2nd round. The two occasions on which they advanced to quarterfinals in 70 & 86, they were the hosts. The Mexican people support their team passionately and have high hopes. Having had the opportunity to live in México, I can vouch that the hype and expectations are comparable to those in India for cricket.
In the 90s the Mexican national team used to be made of primarily homegrown players from the Mexican league, probably the richest league outside the big European leagues. It has been changing a lot in the past decade, especially ever since Rafa Marquez moved to FC Barcelona. No almost half of the players in the team play in big leagues of Europe. Added to the mix, Javier Aguirre who has been very successful, this is a very well drilled team with a lot of exposure to the top players in the world.
Style of Play
México traditionally are very good with the ball. Slick passing by the pivots in the midfield, skillful wingers stuck to the touch-lines going up and down plus a host of good 2nd striker kind of players who play behind the center-forward. What they usually lack are quality strikers, the center-forwards in particular.
Depending on the opponent, they usually switch between a 3-5-2 formation against the more accomplished teams or a 4-5-1 (or a 4-1-4-1 with Marquez anchoring in front of the defence) against teams that are not good at possession. Two holding midfielders in the midfield like Rafa Marquez and Torrado play in front of the 3 central defenders Salcido, Osorio and Francisco Rodriguez. Andres Guardado will be play on the left wing and is a very good at the classic wing play as well as shoot from medium distance. Alberto Medina or Carlos Vela will do the same on the right side (or sometimes play as the 2nd striker). Guillermo Franco or the young Javier Hernandez will likely be alone up front with Giovanni Dos Santos/Cuauhtémoc Blanco in 2nd striker/free role. You will see México keeping the ball for long periods in the game even against accomplished sides.
Problems
México is one of the few teams who have been training together as a team (except those playing in the European Leagues) since April. They have played a bunch of friendlies against African nations to prepare for their first opponent South Africa and close out with a series of games against the top sides in Europe like England, Netherlands among others. This is a definitely a positive for México.
One of the causes of concern is the lack of enough quality in front of the goal. It was evident at the recent friendly against England at Wembley. México dominated possession in both halves of the game and created a lot of chances but failed to capitalize and were soundly beaten in the end. The lack of directness, rather the lack of a plan B to switch to a more direct approach should their plan A isn’t working has been the undoing of México for years.
The 2nd biggest issue is the lack of size, most of the players are small and they can be overpowered at times, especially while defending set pieces.
Depending on the their strengths oppositions will either counterattack by soaking up the Mexican possession and try to win free kicks close to the 18 yard box. If México falls behind their style of play makes is doubly difficult for them to come back. On the same coin if they take an early lead they can run away with the game against the best of them. A lot depends on the finish of Javier Hernandez and the experienced Guillermo Franco. Blanco will be primarily used as an impact sub in the 2nd half, at 35+ he doesn’t have the legs of the past but his vision and the reading of the game are still intact and can unleash a great pass at any time.
Prediction
México are in an open group with no clear favorites. South Africa, France and Uruguay do not necessarily strike fear, but at the same time each of them will be feeling very good about their chances. They could run into bitter rivals Argentina in the 2nd round, a repeat of the 2nd round cracker in 2006 which the Argentinians won through a wonder goal from Maxi Rodriguez in overtime.
I predict México to breakthrough their wall and make it to Quarter-final. With a few lucky breaks with the draw, I won’t be surprised if they make it to the semi-finals because they are in the easier half of the draw.
Team Bus Slogan: ¡Es tiempo de un nuevo campeón! (It is time for a new champion).
Slogan Rating: 8/10. Bold and positive.
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30.5.10
Funny Caricatures of all the world cup teams
These are really funny, some more so than the other.
http://www.marca.com/albumes/2010/05/30/carteles_mundial/index.html
http://www.marca.com/albumes/2010/05/30/carteles_mundial/index.html
25.5.10
World Cup Previews::Brazil and Mexico
The wait is almost over, these two should be out in the next 24 h
19.5.10
World Cup Preview #3: England
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After narrowly failing to qualify for Euro 2008, England under Fabio Capello have made quick work of their world cup qualifying group and qualified for the World Cup with relative ease. While the qualification was never in doubt from what was an easy group, England under Capello have been a revelation, especially the manner in which they overcame Croatia, England's bogey team from Euro 2008 qualification.
However, the real test for England and Capello is the World Cup. Capello raised the stakes when he told the reporters that not reaching the final would be a failure. Brave posturing from the seasoned Italian.
Capello has announced the list of 30 players to be pruned to the final list of 23 in the coming weeks. No major surprises except for the surprise un-retirement of Jamie Carragher and the inclusion of the injured Gareth Barry.
The selection of the likes of Michael Dawson, Leighton Baines, Ledley King, Tom Huddlestone, Adam Johnson, Darren Bent et al, shows that Don Fabio has made good use of his time watching a lot of EPL games to identify and reward the in-form players irrespective of their teams. Only 5 strikers have been named in the list of 30 which means it is almost certain that all of them: Bent, Crouch, Defoe, Heskey and Rooney will in the final squad.
How does England play?
England under Capello have played with lot more discipline than they ever did under Eriksson or McLaren. 4-4-2 formation has been the norm with Rooney as the main striker and Heskey primarily used to take advantage of his size and pull the central defenders to make space for Rooney as well as Lampard or Barry to drive from the midfield. John Terry and King/Carragher will start in the central defence with Ashley Cole and Glen Johnson as the fullbacks. The midfield diamond will have Lampard at the top with Stevie G and Lennon/Milner on the edges and Barry/Carrick at the bottom of the diamond.
Pacy winger Theo Walcott will mostly be used as an impact sub in the 2nd halves. Defoe will most likely be the first change for Heskey especially if England is trailing. Ashley Cole is very good on the left overlapping and supporting the attack.
The problem with this England squad is the imbalance in talent among GK, Midfield, Defence & Forwards. England has a great set of midfield players, very good defense, average GK and average strike force with the exception of one Wayne Rooney.
How will the oppositions play against England?
Oppositions will try to shadow and mark out Rooney, try and limit his impact by dragging him to wide positions. This is the where Emile Heskey's contributions will be crucial. Although he is not a prolific goal-scorer by any means Capello likes him because he has been doing a great job complementing Rooney.
England is not a ball possession team by nature; although the likes of Lampard and Rooney can keep possession against the best and win back the ball. In the group phase they will face Algeria, Slovenia and the USA. None of these teams is known for their possession football so England won’t have to worry a lot about getting starved of the ball. USA seems to be toughest of the three opponents and England open their campaign against USA. USA is a counterattacking team and from the little I know about Slovenia they will also play a counter-attacking game against England. On the surface Algeria seems to be weakest of them ball but be aware that they eliminated the African Champions and the fancied and very talented Egypt.
I predict this group to produce some of the dullest games of the tournament.
How far England will go?
England are in the easy half of the draw, I fancy them to make it to semi-finals.
England should come out of the Group C on top. Then they might run into either Germany/Serbia/Ghana or even the feisty Australia (Group D has no walkover). England has the fire-power to prevail over anyone from group D in the round 2 (unless they run into an in-form Ghana with crowd behind them). We could potentially have a juicy quarter-final or semifinal matchup between England-Argentina (nothing stokes up people like an England- Argentina tie).
Prediction : Losing semi-finalist.
Caption on the team bus: Playing with Pride and Glory >>
Rating: 5/10. In one word, Mundane.
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Spain
Argentina
After narrowly failing to qualify for Euro 2008, England under Fabio Capello have made quick work of their world cup qualifying group and qualified for the World Cup with relative ease. While the qualification was never in doubt from what was an easy group, England under Capello have been a revelation, especially the manner in which they overcame Croatia, England's bogey team from Euro 2008 qualification.
However, the real test for England and Capello is the World Cup. Capello raised the stakes when he told the reporters that not reaching the final would be a failure. Brave posturing from the seasoned Italian.
Capello has announced the list of 30 players to be pruned to the final list of 23 in the coming weeks. No major surprises except for the surprise un-retirement of Jamie Carragher and the inclusion of the injured Gareth Barry.
The selection of the likes of Michael Dawson, Leighton Baines, Ledley King, Tom Huddlestone, Adam Johnson, Darren Bent et al, shows that Don Fabio has made good use of his time watching a lot of EPL games to identify and reward the in-form players irrespective of their teams. Only 5 strikers have been named in the list of 30 which means it is almost certain that all of them: Bent, Crouch, Defoe, Heskey and Rooney will in the final squad.
How does England play?
England under Capello have played with lot more discipline than they ever did under Eriksson or McLaren. 4-4-2 formation has been the norm with Rooney as the main striker and Heskey primarily used to take advantage of his size and pull the central defenders to make space for Rooney as well as Lampard or Barry to drive from the midfield. John Terry and King/Carragher will start in the central defence with Ashley Cole and Glen Johnson as the fullbacks. The midfield diamond will have Lampard at the top with Stevie G and Lennon/Milner on the edges and Barry/Carrick at the bottom of the diamond.
Pacy winger Theo Walcott will mostly be used as an impact sub in the 2nd halves. Defoe will most likely be the first change for Heskey especially if England is trailing. Ashley Cole is very good on the left overlapping and supporting the attack.
The problem with this England squad is the imbalance in talent among GK, Midfield, Defence & Forwards. England has a great set of midfield players, very good defense, average GK and average strike force with the exception of one Wayne Rooney.
How will the oppositions play against England?
Oppositions will try to shadow and mark out Rooney, try and limit his impact by dragging him to wide positions. This is the where Emile Heskey's contributions will be crucial. Although he is not a prolific goal-scorer by any means Capello likes him because he has been doing a great job complementing Rooney.
England is not a ball possession team by nature; although the likes of Lampard and Rooney can keep possession against the best and win back the ball. In the group phase they will face Algeria, Slovenia and the USA. None of these teams is known for their possession football so England won’t have to worry a lot about getting starved of the ball. USA seems to be toughest of the three opponents and England open their campaign against USA. USA is a counterattacking team and from the little I know about Slovenia they will also play a counter-attacking game against England. On the surface Algeria seems to be weakest of them ball but be aware that they eliminated the African Champions and the fancied and very talented Egypt.
I predict this group to produce some of the dullest games of the tournament.
How far England will go?
England are in the easy half of the draw, I fancy them to make it to semi-finals.
England should come out of the Group C on top. Then they might run into either Germany/Serbia/Ghana or even the feisty Australia (Group D has no walkover). England has the fire-power to prevail over anyone from group D in the round 2 (unless they run into an in-form Ghana with crowd behind them). We could potentially have a juicy quarter-final or semifinal matchup between England-Argentina (nothing stokes up people like an England- Argentina tie).
Prediction : Losing semi-finalist.
Caption on the team bus: Playing with Pride and Glory >>
Rating: 5/10. In one word, Mundane.
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Argentina
17.5.10
World Cup Preview#2 : Argentina
When Diego Maradona took the job of managing Argentina's national team, there were mixed reactions. Most thought he neither had the experience nor the tactical mind to take a high profile yet underachieving Argentina to a World cup win. But make no mistake, everyone agreed on one thing. With Diego, it will never be boring.
The qualifying campaign was anything but smooth. Argentina made heavy work of beating a weak Peru in the final game and receiving a favor from Uruguay who drew in their final game enabling Argentina to squeeze into the showpiece in South Africa.
Almost 2 years in and trying out close to 100 players in the qualifiers and friendlies, experts and fans alike are scratching their heads on what this Argentina about, the formation, the style etc. If anything the provisional squad announced by Maradona made the matters worse adding more confusion.
Based on what Maradona has done in the past (again, this means jack as far as what he will do in the world cup :)) Argentina will play in a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 at the start.
Maradona announced that Heinze, Samuel, Di Michelis and Ottamendi will be the starting back four, the problem all of these are primarily central defenders. This is a big problem if the fullbacks cannot overlap and support the attacking midfielders. If you have seen Javier Zanetti with Inter the last few seasons, it makes no sense he is not in list of 30.
In the midfield, Juan Veron is the brain and Mascherano does the dirty work. The problem here is Veron is past his prime and is a 45-minute player at best. And there is no real backup for Veron. If Veron has to substituted early into the 2nd half, either Argentina have to change shape or put someone like Javier Pastore who is very different from Veron in his place.
Upfront, Maradona is spoiled for choice. He has Messi, Tevez, Higuain, Milito who have scored close to 120 goals put together season. Messi and Higuain/Milito are primed to start. Again, no clue why he has picked up 36 year old Palermo.
How will Argentina play?
Argentina will employ a 4-4-2 with Messi as the 2nd striker behind Milito or Higuain. Maxi Rodriguez and Angel Di Maria will probably accompany Veron and Mascherano in a classic 2-pivot 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1.
I see two main problems
1. With no true fullbacks, Argentina will lack both width and depth in attack.
2. Quality opponents could mark out Messi and make him come deep into midfield to get the ball taking him out of spaces around the box and between the midfield and the centre forward where he is most dangerous.
As a result, the back four and the midfield will be disjointed from the attacking players. I cant read Maradona's mind (i dont think anyone can) but the plan seems to be keep a clean-sheet at the back and either pass the ball to Messi and ask him to do the rest or lump long balls forward hoping to sneak a goal and ride it out.
If the above fails and Argentina go behind, Maradona will throw in more strikers but there is not much in the list of 30 that shows they can change something dramatically.
How far they will go?
Argentina is in a relatively easy group with Nigeria, South Korea and Greece. The quality upfront with Messi & company should see them through this group and they would run into either Mexico, France or Uruguay in the 2nd round. Again I can see Argentina squeezing through the 2nd round as they dont really run into a heavyweight.
Quarterfinals is the farthest I see them going, and I wont be surprised if they get eliminated earlier.
Note to Argentine Football Association (AFA) : Please go get a real coach. You are doing tremendous disservice to lot of hugely talented players. And this is coming from a die-hard fan of Diego Armando Maradona, the player.
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Spain
The qualifying campaign was anything but smooth. Argentina made heavy work of beating a weak Peru in the final game and receiving a favor from Uruguay who drew in their final game enabling Argentina to squeeze into the showpiece in South Africa.
Almost 2 years in and trying out close to 100 players in the qualifiers and friendlies, experts and fans alike are scratching their heads on what this Argentina about, the formation, the style etc. If anything the provisional squad announced by Maradona made the matters worse adding more confusion.
Based on what Maradona has done in the past (again, this means jack as far as what he will do in the world cup :)) Argentina will play in a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 at the start.
Maradona announced that Heinze, Samuel, Di Michelis and Ottamendi will be the starting back four, the problem all of these are primarily central defenders. This is a big problem if the fullbacks cannot overlap and support the attacking midfielders. If you have seen Javier Zanetti with Inter the last few seasons, it makes no sense he is not in list of 30.
In the midfield, Juan Veron is the brain and Mascherano does the dirty work. The problem here is Veron is past his prime and is a 45-minute player at best. And there is no real backup for Veron. If Veron has to substituted early into the 2nd half, either Argentina have to change shape or put someone like Javier Pastore who is very different from Veron in his place.
Upfront, Maradona is spoiled for choice. He has Messi, Tevez, Higuain, Milito who have scored close to 120 goals put together season. Messi and Higuain/Milito are primed to start. Again, no clue why he has picked up 36 year old Palermo.
How will Argentina play?
Argentina will employ a 4-4-2 with Messi as the 2nd striker behind Milito or Higuain. Maxi Rodriguez and Angel Di Maria will probably accompany Veron and Mascherano in a classic 2-pivot 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1.
I see two main problems
1. With no true fullbacks, Argentina will lack both width and depth in attack.
2. Quality opponents could mark out Messi and make him come deep into midfield to get the ball taking him out of spaces around the box and between the midfield and the centre forward where he is most dangerous.
As a result, the back four and the midfield will be disjointed from the attacking players. I cant read Maradona's mind (i dont think anyone can) but the plan seems to be keep a clean-sheet at the back and either pass the ball to Messi and ask him to do the rest or lump long balls forward hoping to sneak a goal and ride it out.
If the above fails and Argentina go behind, Maradona will throw in more strikers but there is not much in the list of 30 that shows they can change something dramatically.
How far they will go?
Argentina is in a relatively easy group with Nigeria, South Korea and Greece. The quality upfront with Messi & company should see them through this group and they would run into either Mexico, France or Uruguay in the 2nd round. Again I can see Argentina squeezing through the 2nd round as they dont really run into a heavyweight.
Quarterfinals is the farthest I see them going, and I wont be surprised if they get eliminated earlier.
Note to Argentine Football Association (AFA) : Please go get a real coach. You are doing tremendous disservice to lot of hugely talented players. And this is coming from a die-hard fan of Diego Armando Maradona, the player.
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Spain
12.5.10
World Cup Preview #1 : Spain
Spain has to prove its Euro 2008 victory wasn't a fluke - no easy task. They face a very accomplished Chile, a physically strong Honduras and the dark horse Switzerland in the group stage.
They will retain the core of the Euro 2008 squad and play the trademark ball possession and passing game. Fernando Torres will lead the forward line, with David Villa, who will drift into wide positions often; both supported by David Silva and Andres Iniesta on the wings with Xavi Hernandez in the midfield alongside Xabi Alonso or Marcos Senna. Ramos-Pique-Albiol-Capdevila will start at the back.
The bench will feature the electric winger from Seville, Jesus Navas, the prolific Pedro Rodriguez of Barcelona and the big center forward Fernando Llorente of Bilbao as an option B to help break through defensive walls in the second halves.
Coach Vicente Del Bosque has a potentially debilitating three injured players (Torres, Iniesta and Fabregas) with six weeks to go, who are expected to be fit just in time for the World Cup. Some key players from the Euro 2008, Marcos Senna and Santi Cazorla, are struggling and could miss the world cup. Injuries apart, I believe they have a strong squad and a very good talent pool to choose from.
The biggest positional weakness is the left-back position. First choice Joan Capdevila aged 32 is great going forward but teams can exploit the space behind him when he doesn’t track back. They can also stifle Spain on the left side if he stays back against attacking right wingers/backs. Tactically, counterattacking teams that are comfortable without the ball and opponents with a big physical presence will pose a threat to Spain.
Spain can go all the way, unless they run into Brazil in the second round - which cuts their chances to 50-50.
Spain has announced the 30 probables. No big surprises. The fact that they selected 5 goalkeepers in the list indicates they have few selection worries.
Prediction : Champion, if they dont cross swords with Brasil in the 2nd round
They will retain the core of the Euro 2008 squad and play the trademark ball possession and passing game. Fernando Torres will lead the forward line, with David Villa, who will drift into wide positions often; both supported by David Silva and Andres Iniesta on the wings with Xavi Hernandez in the midfield alongside Xabi Alonso or Marcos Senna. Ramos-Pique-Albiol-Capdevila will start at the back.
The bench will feature the electric winger from Seville, Jesus Navas, the prolific Pedro Rodriguez of Barcelona and the big center forward Fernando Llorente of Bilbao as an option B to help break through defensive walls in the second halves.
Coach Vicente Del Bosque has a potentially debilitating three injured players (Torres, Iniesta and Fabregas) with six weeks to go, who are expected to be fit just in time for the World Cup. Some key players from the Euro 2008, Marcos Senna and Santi Cazorla, are struggling and could miss the world cup. Injuries apart, I believe they have a strong squad and a very good talent pool to choose from.
The biggest positional weakness is the left-back position. First choice Joan Capdevila aged 32 is great going forward but teams can exploit the space behind him when he doesn’t track back. They can also stifle Spain on the left side if he stays back against attacking right wingers/backs. Tactically, counterattacking teams that are comfortable without the ball and opponents with a big physical presence will pose a threat to Spain.
Spain can go all the way, unless they run into Brazil in the second round - which cuts their chances to 50-50.
Spain has announced the 30 probables. No big surprises. The fact that they selected 5 goalkeepers in the list indicates they have few selection worries.
Prediction : Champion, if they dont cross swords with Brasil in the 2nd round
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