Spain enters the World Cup in a deadlock with Brazil for top spot in FIFA’s world rankings, and like their South American counterparts, it’s win or bust for the Spaniards. For years Spain failed to live up to the high expectations, and many started to wonder if this team had the character needed to become a winner, but that all changed in the 2008 European Championships when Spain finally captured an international title. Now that this team has finally learned how to win the sky appears to be the limit for Spain.
Spain is dealing with a few injuries at the moment, but it appears that everyone should be ready to go. Fernando Torres may sit out the first match, but that will only be as a precaution to rest his sore knee, and this team has the talent to overcome his limited absence. However, Torres is not the only member of this team coming off an injury. Mid-fielders Xavi, Andres Iniesta, and Cesc Fabregas are all coming off of various injuries, and manager Vicente del Bosque will be hoping they all manage to stay healthy for the length of the World Cup. Injuries appear to be the only thing that could stop this football superpower from advancing very deep in South Africa.
The rest of the group is simply hoping to finish second because topping Spain is virtually impossible. Chile is coming off a phenomenal qualifying campaign, and enter the tournament as one of the team’s to watch. Chile’s strength lies with their offensive talent, and manager Marcelo Bielsa loves to let his players attack the opposition. Bielsa’s squad is loaded with young talent up front, and the team has scored a lot of goals, but their weakness is at the back, and Chile subsequently allowed quite a few goals as well. It will be interesting to see how well these young, talented players hold up under the spotlight of the World Cup. If Chile gets off to a good start against Honduras, this team could be primed for a trip to the second round.
Like Chile, Switzerland also brings a very young squad to South Africa, but that is where the similarities end. The match between Switzerland and Chile will be a clash of styles. Switzerland will try to use their stifling defense to win low scoring matches. It worked for them in the group stage in Germany four years ago, but their lack of goal scoring caught up to Switzerland in the second round. Switzerland will be depending heavily upon Alex Frei to score enough goals to give them a chance to win. It will be a tall task, but the Swiss will have to be able to shut down Chile, and then find some offense on the counter-attack. If this system works, Switzerland could once again find themselves in the second round.
If Spain and Chile are fighting an uphill battle, then Honduras is climbing a mountain. Honduras surprised everyone just by qualifying for South Africa, but not much is expected from this tiny country at the World Cup. Honduras lacks the offensive flair of Chile, and the tenacious defense of Switzerland. Honduras does have some very talented players on its roster, but they will need to play perfect football just to earn a single victory in this group.
Spain should walk away with Group H. Their talent can only be matched by Brazil, and those two squads will only face each other if both reach the final. Chile and Switzerland will be involved in the fight for second. If Chile’s stars are performing, it will be very difficult for even Switzerland to hold off their offense for an entire 90 minutes.
Predictions
1. Spain
2. Chile
3. Switzerland
4. Honduras