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Wednesday June 18th - 4:00PM | ||
| vs | CHILE | ||
| FIFA RANKING 1 | FIFA RANKING 13 | ||
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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. CHILE After Chile started their qualifying campaign by winning 12 of the first 18 points on offer, including away victories in Bolivia and Venezuela, three consecutive defeats (among them two home fixtures against Colombia and Argentina) spelled the end of Argentinian coach Claudio Borghi’s tenure. His compatriot Jorge Sampaoli was brought in as a replacement, although his reign got off to a poor start with a reverse in Peru. Yet the loss marked a turning point in Chile’s campaign, as they subsequently embarked on their best ever run of results in FIFA World Cup™ qualifying, chalking up five victories and a draw in their next six encounters to qualify for a second successive World Cup for the first time. |
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RECENT RESULTS |
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| SPAIN | CHILE | ||
| 15/10/13 - SPAIN 2-0 GEORGIA 11/10/13 - SPAIN 2-1 BELARUS 06/09/13 - FINLAND 0-2 SPAIN |
15/10/13 - CHILE 2-1 ECUADOR 11/10/13 - COLUMBIA 3-3 CHILE 06/09/13 - CHILE 3-0 VENEZUELA |
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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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| CHILE Forwards Alexis Sanchez and Eduardo Vargas, as well as attacking midfielders Matias Fernandez and Arturo Vidal, are the leading men in a squad packed with talent and boasting viable alternatives in each position. Nor must we forget experienced performers such as Claudio Bravo, Gary Medel and Jorge Valdivia, or exciting rising stars like Jean Beausejour and Marcelo Diaz. |
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