Spain fans placed lot of hopes on their team after a long time. These “chokers at big tournaments” shed their tag after winning 2008 EURO but regained chokers tag after losing in semi-finals of Confederations cup. Despite producing many great talents, Spain never reached finals of FIFA world cup.
But, their performance in qualifying matches and in friendlies raised hopes of fans. Spain has world class players in all places and is in roaring form.
Group H: Spain, Chile, Honduras and Switzerland
FIFA Ranking: 2
Squad ranking: 9/10 (Best team in world)
Qualification: They are the best performing team in entire qualifying round. They won all 10 games by scoring 28 goals.
World cup history: Spain is the biggest choker at world cup. Their best performance is semi-finals that too in 1950. This is the thirteenth world cup for Spanish Armada.
Warm-up matches:
1.
Missing stars: Marcos Senna, Alvaro Negredo, Santi Cazorla and Diego Lopez
Coach: Vicente Del Bosque
Spain soccer squad for 2010 FIFA World cup:
Goal keepers:
1. Iker Casillas: Despite marginal drop in form in last few months, Saint is world class and he is an inspirational leader on field.
2. Pepe Raina: Liverpool may be in tatters but Reina is rock.
3. Victor Valdes: Barcelona goal keeper is most underrated player due to lack of charisma like Saint Iker.
Defenders:
1. Carles Puyol: Inspirational and passionate footballer.
2. Sergio Ramos: Spanish legend is its strength and weakness. He needs to control his forward instincts for team.
3. Gerard Pique: Stable and composed defender.
4. Joan Capdevila: He always play well for Spain.
5. Raul Albiol:
6. Alvaro Arbeola:
7. Carlos Marchena:
Mid-Fielders:
1. Xavi: Best mid-fielder in contemporary football along with Frank Lampard. Best passer, most consistent player and visionary.
2. Cesc Fabregas:
3. Andres Iniesta:
4. Javi Martinez:
5. David Silva:
6. Sergio Busquets:
7. Xabi Alonso:
Forwards:
1. David Villa: One of the best strikers on planet earth. Strong contender for Golden boot award in this world cup.
2. Fernando Torres: He has talent but need to replicate club form for country. If Torres is in form, Villa-Torres pair can decimate any defence.
3. Pedro: Barcelona star is famous for scoring crucial goals in crucial matches.
4. Fernando Llorente:
5. Jesus Nevas:
6. Juan Mata:
Positives:
1. World class forwards
2. World class mid-fielders sit on bench – that is the strength of team
3. World class defenders
4. World class goal keepers need to sit on bench – that is its bench strength
5. They have everything to win world cup
6. Easiest group
7. Some of regular first team players of Real Madrid (Xavi Alonso), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona) and Pepe Raina (Liverpool) need to sit on bench. Some world class players failed to make to final 23.
8. Their substitutes are better than first team players of most teams.
Weaknesses:
1. Tough draw from second round
2. Tag of “Chokers” – Don’t forget their loss in semi-finals of Confederation cup.
3. Poor form of Torres in qualifiers
4. Injuries – They are tired and many stars have just recovered from injuries (Xavi, Torres and Fabregas etc)
Final verdict:
Spain has best possible team to win 2010 FIFA world cup. They are strong favourites to win soccer world cup in South Africa along with Brazil. But, they need to overcome many hurdles from second round.
Spain will finish top in Group H. They will face either Portugal/Ivory Coast in second round. They need to overcome Italy in quarter-finals. They may face Argentina/Germany in semi-finals. They may face Brazil/England/Holland in finals
Spanish fans will not forgive their heroes if they return from last 16/quarter-finals.
Spain squad rating: 9/10
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