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Friday June 13 - 1:00PM | ||
| vs | NETHERLANDS | ||
| FIFA RANKING 1 | FIFA RANKING 15 | ||
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| HOW THEY QUALIFIED |
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| SPAIN Spain will head to Brazil as defending champions. Remaining loyal to the style and players that have allowed them to dominate the global and European scenes over the last five years, La Roja won the only qualification pool (aside from the South American group) to contain two world champions. In what was the smallest section in Europe with only five teams, the Spanish led the way from France thanks to a record of six wins and two draws, conceded to the French and Finland. In topping the group they let in a mere three goals, fewer than any other side in the European preliminaries. At the other end of the pitch, however, Spain enjoyed one of their less prolific campaigns, scoring only 14 times. NETHERLANDS The Netherlands positively cruised into the finals of Brazil 2014, coming through as Europe's the joint-top point scorers - alongside Germany - on 28, with their 2-2 draw against Estonia the only minor blemish on a near-faultless campaign. At times they were absolutely purring, in no game more so than their 8-1 defeat of Hungary, while Germany were the only side on the continent to score more goals than their 34. They registered comfortable wins over their three main Group D rivals - Turkey, Hungary and Romania - in their opening four games to see them shoot clear of the competition, with only a spectacular collapse looking able to deny them an automatic spot. That never came and a, somewhat nervy, 2-0 win over Andorra saw them, alongside Italy, become the first Europeans to seal their place in Brazil. They finished nine points ahead of Romania, a gap only matched by neighbours Belgium |
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RECENT RESULTS |
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| SPAIN | NETHERLANDS | ||
| 15/10/13 - SPAIN 2-0 GEORGIA 11/10/13 - SPAIN 2-1 BELARUS 06/09/13 - FINLAND 0-2 SPAIN |
15/10/13 - TURKEY 0-2 NETHERLNDS 11/10/13 - NETHERLNDS 8-1 HUNGARY 10/09/13 - ANDORRA 0-2 NETHERLNDS |
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| PLAYERS TO WATCH | |||
| SPAIN Though there is no doubt that Spain’s embarrassment of midfield riches, featuring the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Xabi Alonso, has been integral to their major trophy triumphs, La Selección are strong across the board.The men in red have a phalanx of very reliable keepers to call on, headed by Iker Casillas, while Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique have consolidated their positions as the leaders of a defence in which left-back Jordi Alba has gone from strength to strength. Ramos and Alba are also a threat in the opposing box, and in recent times have made goalscoring contributions that have been almost as decisive as those of the front men.With both David Villa and Fernando Torres struggling to find their touch, Pedro has distinguished himself as an attacking spearhead, ably supported by Cesc Fabregas, while Alvaro Negredo has begun to stake a compelling claim of his own for the striking role. |
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| NETHERLANDS Robin van Persie's blossoming into one of the finest strikers in the world has been a huge boon to the Dutch, with the Manchester United marksman topping the goal-scoring charts with 11 goals. He was able assisted in that department though by the likes of Jermaine Lens - who has progressed into a key part of the Oranje outfit - and Rafael van der Vaart. Arjen Robben continues to be a menace on the wing, while formerly promising youngsters such as Kevin Strootman and Daryl Janmaat are now key components of the side. |
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