2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil

Biggest Sporting Event on the Earth

Showing posts with label Spain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spain. Show all posts

Match 35 - Australia vs Spain

Kris

Australia vs Spain

Group B
Match 35 on June 23 at 1:00 PM Brasilia Time

Australia 0 - 3  Spain

                                                     (Villa 36', Torres 69', Mata 82')
Man of the Match: David Villa

Match Updates

Lineups

Australia: Ryan, Davidson, Spiranovic, Leckie, Taggart, Oar, Bozanic, Jedinak, McKay, McGowan, Wilkinson

Spain: Reina, Albiol, Juanfran, Iniesta, Villa, Torres, Alonso, Ramos, Koke, Alba, Cazorla

Australia

World Cup Record

12 Matches - W02, D03, L07

Manager

Ange Postecoglou, Australia

Spain

World Cup Record

58 Matches - W28, D12, L18

Manager

Vicente del Bosque, Spain

Match Facts

Referee: Nawaf Shukralla, Bahrain
Head to Head: Australia 0-0-0 Spain
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Match 19 - Spain vs Chile

Kris

Spain vs Chile

Group B
Match 19 on June 18 at 4:00 PM Brasilia Time

Spain 0 - 2 Chile

                                              (Vargas 20', Aranguiz 43')
Man of the Match: Eduardo Vargas

Match Updates

Fulltime - The Spanish Golden Generation are a history now. They are knocked out by Chile
Netherlands and Chile are qualified for the second round now, they lock horns at Sao Paulo on 23rd to find out who finishes on the top of the table

01:30: Spain wins a corner, Ramos and Silva's shots blocked

 The final minutes now, the defending champs are out for sure now. Six added minutes

01:28: Substitution - Vidal goes out now, Carmona comes off the bench
01:27: Torrese is loose, he;s taken down, free kick at the edge of the area
01:25: Substitution - Goalscorer Vargas is replaced by Valdivia
01:24: Iniesta had a long range effort on goal, Bravo blocks it again
01:22: Bravo holds the incoming corner, but he's down now, treatment in process
01:21: Cazorla has a go at the goal, Bravo deflects it out
01:16: Substitution - Cazorla comes in for Spain, Pedro Rodriguez is taken off

Just over a quarter hour now, it looks just a formality now, Chile are very Solid

01:11: Sanchez is on the run, the Spanish defense couldn't contain him, he crosses to Gutierrez, shot goes wide
01:09: Chile on the break, Mena hits it across, Isla almost puts it in
01:04: Substitution - Costa is replaced by Torres, desperate change for Spain. Injured Aranguiz is replaced by Gutirriez
01:01: Yellow Card - Mena tackles Pedro and is booked

Torres is warming up
Spain are trying hard to get back to their tiki-taka ways, whenever they almost found the rhythm, Chie is on them

00:56: Aranguiz is caught on the leg, he's down. Treatment ensues as is the delay, he's being stretchered off
00:52: Ramos on target, Bravo punches it out, Costa then sets up Busquets, he couldn't connect strongly
00:49: Iniesta picks out Costa in the box, three defenders overpower him
00:46: Substitution - Alonso replaced by Koke at the half time

Halftime - What a game, Spain on the brink, Chile were at their best
World Champs goalless in the game, winless and clueless this World Cup

00:43: Goal - Aranguiz scores a second off the rebound from Casillas, Spain are almost out
00:43: Sanchez near the area. Iniesta on him, free kick at the edge of the box
00:40: Yellow Card - Alonso makes a dangerous tackle on Isla, goes into the books
00:35: Pedro makes an unnecessary challenge on Jara, Referee talks to him

Chile are pumped up and playing very aggressively. Spain has a mountain to climb

00:27: Iniesta's free kick, Silva sets us Costa, just wide
00:26:Yellow Card - Vidal gets booked for a challenge on Martinez
00:23: Spain are in the Chilean box, Iniesta to Costa to Alonso, he shoots it over
00:20: Goal - Sanchez bursts through, Aranguiz sets Vargas, he puts it in
00:15: Silva puts Costa in the box, crosses wide of Pedro, Iniesta collects the lose ball, Alonso shoots, blocked by Bravo, Alonso is offside for the rebound
00:13: Vidal takes Silva down near the box, free kick for Spain, but it was a tame attempt by Alonso

If Chile wins today, Spain will be knocked out along with Australia, while Spanish victory will throw the group wide open

00:08: Iniesta's freekick finds Ramos in the box, but it's too much for him
00:02: Sanchez swings in the corner, Jara just heads it wide
00:01: Chile is already in the Spanish box, Vidal tries to get it in, they get a corner off Alonso

Spain staring without Xavi for nearly 7 years, Pique is missing in the back too... Its Kickff at Maracana

Lineups

 Spain: Casillas, Martinez, Iniesta, Pedro, Xabi Alonso, Sergio Ramos, Busquets, Jordi Alba, Costa, Silva, Azpilicueta

 Chile: Bravo, Mena, Isla, Silva, Sanchez, Vidal, Vargas, Medel, Jara, Aranguiz, Dias

Spain

World Cup Record

57 Matches - W28, D12, L17

Manager

Vicente del Bosque, Spain

Chile

World Cup Record

30 Matches - W10, D06, L14

Manager

Jorge Sampaoli, Argentina

Match Facts

Referee: Mark W Geiger, USA
Head to Head: Spain 8-2-0 Chile
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5:31 AM , , , , , , , , , , ,

Match 3 - Spain vs Netherlands

Kris

Spain vs Netherlands

Match 3 on June 13 at 4:00 PM Brasilia Time

Spain 1 - 5 Netherlands

(Xabi Alonso 27'(p)) - (van Persie 44' 72', Robben 53' 80', De Vrij 64')
Man of the Match: Van Persie

Match Updates

Fulltime - The Dutchmen Flying and La Roja are left Redfaced...

01:20: Goal - Robben, Robben, Robben, he runs, he waits, he scores
01:19: Substitution - van Persie out Lens In
01:18: Substitution - Silva off Fabregas on
01:17: Substitution - Veltman replaces De Vrij
01:12: Goal - Casillas makes a horrible mistake, hands van Persie the ball and its goal number 4
01:07: Silva puts it in but is offside
01:06: Yellow Card - van Persie is booked
01:05: Yellow Card - Casillas is booked for protesting
01:04: Goal - De Vrij connects with the Sneijder cross from a free kick and its in
01:02: Substitution - Pedro in, Xabi Alonso out
01:02: Substitution - Torres comes in for Costa
01:02: Substitution - Wijnaldum comes in for de Guzman who has a yellow card
01:00: Van Persie fed by Robben hits the crossbar
00:53: Goal - Robben puts it in and the Dutch leads

 Halftime - An exhilarating first half... 

00:44: Goal - Van Persie equalizes brilliantly from a Blind cross
00:42: Iniesta setsup Silva, a brilliant through ball, Silva misses the chip
00:40: Yellow Card - De Vrij is booked for a challenge on Silva
00:27: Goal - Xabi Alonso coolly puts its in bottom left corner
00:26: Penalty - Diego Costa is felled in the box and its a harsh penalty
00:25: Yellow Card - de Guzman gets booked for a foul on Iniesta
00:10: Iniesta skies an attempt
00:08: Robben sets up Sneijder excellently but he is alone and is denied by Casillas

Costa is bound to face boos till he scores his first goal...
Spain is playing with a white kit as their home kit was clashing with the Dutch kit and Netherlands are wearing a blue one... None of them wearing their preferable kits
The rematch of the last World Cup final is on...

Lineups

Spain: Casillas, Azpilicueta, Sergio Ramos, Pique, Jordi Alba, Alonso, Xavi, Busquets, Silva, Diego Costa, Iniesta
Subs: De Gea, Albiol, Javi Martinez, Juanfran, Villa, Torres, Fabregas, Pedro, Mata, Koke, Cazorla, Reina
Holland: Cillessen, Janmaat, Vlaar, De Vrij, Martins Indi, Blind, de Guzman, Sneijder, De Jong, van Persie, Robben
Subs: Vorm, Verhaegh, Veltman, Kongolo, Kuyt, Clasie, Lens, Fer, Huntelaar, Wijnaldum, Depay, Krul

Spain

World Cup Record

56 Matches - W28, D12, L16

Manager

Vicente del Bosque, Spain

Netherlands

World Cup Record

43 Matches - W22, D10, L11

Manager

Louis van Gaal, Netherlands

Match Facts

Referee: Nicola Rizzoli, Italy
Head to Head: Spain 5-1-4 Netherlands
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7:21 AM , , , , , , , , , , ,

K minus 4 days - Four Teams That Can Win

Kris

Argentina

Argentina in 2014 is one of the most settled World Cup teams since that fateful World Cup in 1986, where a diminutive talisman called Diego Maradona managed to gain notoriety and footballing equivalent of immortality in a matter of minutes, while guiding their good enough team to one of the best World Cup Championships, almost "singlehandedly"
Argentina Squad Against Portugal - Friendly - 2011
Even after leaving out "the people's player" Carlos Tevez, the Argentine attack looks sharper than ever with an amazing forward lineup of Higuain, Aguero, Lavezzi, Palacios and a extraordinary man who's just finding his feet in the national setup, Lionel Messi. The are supported by an efficient group which includes Di Maria, Rodriguez, Mascherano backed up by Zabaleta and Romero
This World Cup, Argentina are not just trying to live up to their name but are a team to beat. And playing in the neighborhood would definitely boost their chances much further. Don't be surprised if they are fighting for the title on July 13th at Rio de Janeiro

Germany

One of the most consistent teams at the world stage is one of the most disciplined and powerful as well. Ever since they won that ill tempered final in 1990 final against Argentina, avenging the defeat of four years earlier, Germany played a final, two semifinals and two more quarters. In fact, in their 17 appearances at the finals, they failed to reach quarter finals just twice, the last time in 1978 in Argentina
German Team Against Austria - World Cup Qualifying
The physicality, the strength, the defending ability, the attacking calibre and the ever emerging talent had been factors to German consistency at the world stage but their inability to get to and surpass the final is fast becoming the story of a legend itself. But the current team has been blending together beautifully owing much to the strong performances of Bundesliga teams
Manuel Neuer to Philipp Lahm, Sami Khedira to Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mesut Ozil to Thomas Muller and then Mertesacker, Kroos, Schuerrle, Klose the German team looks strongest of them all on paper but their performance on the pitch especially in the crucial knockout stages could well define this tourney

Spain

Spanish top tier league La Liga is one of the best followed leagues in the world with highly competitive display from the top teams Barcelona, Real Madrid and most recently Atletico. They attract the best talent from the world while retaining the crux of the domestic talent. No wonder Spain has achieved a level of consistency at the top level that it almost feels boring to watch them. Their football follows a predictable path of seamless passing, possession and precision finishing
Spain Squad - Euro 2012 Final
Spain has been winning everything in the last six years, back-to-back Euro championships sandwiched with a flawless World Cup display and are currently on an enviable run. Everyone in the Spanish national team are supremely talented and knows their role perfectly. The tiki-taka style of play is so efficient that their opponents have no clue what hit them before they start breaking down against some of the beautifully executed maneuvers on display
Although Torres lost his mojo mostly and Villa failed to come back to his venomous touch after injury, players like Casillas, Ramos, Pique, Iniesta, Xavi, Silva, Alonso, new comer Costa et al could make the first squad in almost every club or national football teams all over the world. But, yes there's a but, the Spanish team, like their erstwhile deadly strikers, have been ever so slightly showing signs of being past their prime, like when they lost the Confederations Cup finals and there's the fact that no European team ha won a World Cup in South America. But like they did in Africa, they could be the first, if they can get past the continental giants

Brazil

You now Brazil has been waiting for this opportunity, ever since the Maracenazo in 1950, ever since they failed to win it back since Ronaldo's World Cup while remaining relatively consistent in other major tourneys, ever since Ronaldinho, Kaka, Robinho et al failed to live up to their expectations but Neymar appeared as the next big thing on that list
Brazil won the 2013 Confederations Cup at home
Nobody knows how Brazil play, not unless you face them, there's a degree of uncertainty when playing against them while the Brazilians seem to know exactly what they are doing. Nobody especially knows how the current team would fare although they have seen them win the Confederations Cup, but that's just one tournament. They have a revamped side of awesome players like Thiago Silva, Hulk, Oscar, Fred in addition to Neymar
Brazil also chose to get back into the groove with winning the last major tourney before the World Cup, the Confed Cup, against the defending world champs Spain, a team everyone are striving to beat in the recent past. This can well be the Brazilian World Cup in name and in deed to add to their already bulging five championships. They are odds on favorites to reach the World Cup final

Honorable Mention

  • Belgium, an underdog of the tournament for their all round, talented, fearless squad
  • Italy, for always managing to be there at the top for so long so consistently
  • France, a very balanced squad
  • Netherlands, for their resilience and talent on display
  • Uruguay, for their second coming and Luis Suarez
  • Portugal, for Cristiano Ronaldo
Read More
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K minus 5 days - Five Players to Watch Out For - Iniesta

Kris

Ronaldo - Messi - Neymar - Robben - Iniesta

Andres Iniesta

David Villa's goalscoring ability and the talented Spanish squad might have been successful in winning the 2010 World Cup along with 2008 and 2012 Euro Cups, Messi and the effectual Barca side might have been dominating the European football for sometime - but the common point of both those successes is Andres Iniesta, the inspirational midfielder with an amazing ability to turn matches with his subtle assists and stunning goals. On of the best players of his generation, he famously scored the only goal in the 2010 World Cup final against Netherlands and named man of the match
A product of Barcelona's youth academy, Iniesta, a part of the golden generation along with Messi and Xavi, had been the crux of the Spanish giants leading them to six titles in an inspirational season in 2009. He won six La Ligas, three Champions Leagues, six Spanish Cups, two each of Copa del Reys, Club World Cups and UEFA Super Cups in a distinguished career
His career with Spanish national team is no less spectacular. He won a World Cup, and two Euro trophies for the team he represented since 2006 and contributed immensely to all those successes and he's going to be a valuable player for Spain this edition especially due to their struggles at the front recently

Ronaldo - Messi - Neymar - Robben - Iniesta

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5:26 AM , , , ,

Spain World Cup Squad Announced

Kris
Injury hit winger Jesus Navas has been left out of Spain's 23-man final roster announced by Vicente del Bosque. Striker Alvaro Negredo was also not included as the coach preferred the Brazilian born striker Diego Costa, despite his injury struggles, along with out of form duo Fernando Torres and David Villa
Another notable exclusion in the squad is Real Madrid full back Dani Carvajal, Juanfran was preferred over him. Apart from these, the defending champions will fly to Brazil with all the usual suspects such as Iniesta, Xavi, Fabregas, Alonso and Pedro among others
Despite his struggles in the premier league, Juan Mata was added to the roster while Fernando Llorente missed out on his chance despite his successful season in Serie A
Iker Casillas as expected would start ahead of Reina and de Gea
Costa is the only player with major injury concerns in the squad but can be replaced if needed up to 24 hours before their first game at the finals

Squad

Goalkeepers:
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Pepe Reina (Napoli), David de Gea (Manchester United)

Defenders:
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Juanfran Torres (Atletico Madrid), Raul Albiol (Napoli), Javi Martinez (Bayern Munich), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)

Midfielders:
Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Xavi (Barcelona), Santi Cazorla (Arsenal), Juan Mata (Manchester United), David Silva (Manchester City), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid)

Attackers: 
Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid), David Villa (Atletico Madrid), Fernando Torres (Chelsea), Pedro Rodriguez (Barcelona)
Read More
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Injury Update - Diego Costa Injured?

Kris
Spanish hopeful and leading striker of Atletico Madrid hurt his hamstring, a relapse after seemingly recovering from the same injury earlier. Diego Simeone immediately took him out but it looked not good for the forward who hopes not only to make it into Spain's final squad but also to win a Champions League for his team on the May 24 final against Real Madrid
Arda Turin, Turkey and Atletico forward, also was injured probably through a muscle pull and is suspected to miss the Champions League final. The Lisbon game is being haunted by injury concerns as star Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo is fighting to recover from his hamstring. Ronaldo was named in an earlier game for Real Madrid against Espanyol but later replaced by Isco, adding fuels to the extent of his injury

Meanwhile injured Barca winger Neymar played the whole game against Atletico, who drew the game and thereby winning the league

Costa and Turan's extent of injuries would be assessed after the game

Update May 19:
It's not yet sure whether Diego Costa would play Champions League final, but he's expected to be fit for the World Cup, according to Diego Simeone
Read More
11:22 AM , , , , ,

Injury Update - Thiago Alcantaro Out

Kris
Bayern Munich Midfielder and Spain World Cup prospect, Thiago Alcantara has been ruled out for 8-11 weeks after tearing his right knee ligaments again just after coming back from the same injury. FC Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge announced the news today, which effectively rules him out of the World Cup

He was included in the provisional 30-man squad by coach Vicente del Bosque and he's hopeful of getting into the final roster. Alacantara also missed the Euro 2012 and London Olympics through injury

Read More
5:37 AM , , , , , ,

Spain Provisional Squad

Kris
A few surprises were revealed when the Spain's 30-man Provisional Squad was announced by coach Vicente del Bosque. Isco, Arbeloa and Soldado were the big names left out while uncapped Carvajal and Iturraspe were included along with out-of-form striker Torres
De Gea took the place of injured Valdes, Diego Costa was called up to bulk up the goal scoring department already filled with Villa, Pedro and Llorente, Mata and Cajorla were among those retained. The team includes seven players from Barcelona FC
Other exclusions were Saurez, Martinez, Herrera and Benat

FIFA has a deadline until June 2 by which all teams need to lodge their 23-member World Cup squads

Squad

Goalkeepers:
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Pepe Reina (Napoli), David de Gea (Manchester United)

Defenders:
Dani Carvajal, Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Juanfran (Atletico Madrid), Raul Albiol (Napoli), Javi Martinez (Bayern Munich), Alberto Moreno (Sevilla), Jordi Alba, Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)

Midfielders:
Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Sergio Busquets, Xavi (Barcelona), Santi Cazorla (Arsenal), Juan Mata (Manchester United), David Silva (Manchester City), Thiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich), Ander Iturraspe (Athletic Bilbao), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid)

Attackers: 
Diego Costa, David Villa (Atletico Madrid), Alvaro Negredo, Jesus Navas (Manchester City), Fernando Torres (Chelsea), Fernando Llorente (Juventus), Pedro (Barcelona)
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May FIFA World Rankings

Kris
The May update of Coca-Cola FIFA World Rankings showed very less activity owing to addition of just thirteen new matches. More than two-thirds of the total 209 nations retained their April Ranks

The significant change in the top 10 is that the World Cup hosts Brazil have risen to number 4, their best ranking in the last three years, sending Colombia, Uruguay and Argentina each one place down to 5th, 6th and 7th respectively, to top the continental teams. The only other big riser amongst World Cup participating nations is Honduras which climbed 2 places to 30
Chile and USA exchanged their ranks to place at 13 and 14, Nigeria pushed down Hungary to occupy 44th position. Korea Republic's rise of one place to 55th is the only other change in the rankings of World Cup teams

Spain, Germany and Portugal remain at their top three positions and Australia, at 59, remains the least ranked team in Brazil

The string of friendlies scheduled ahead of the world event would start shortly and may result in the final shuffle of ranks as the next update is scheduled just a week before the opening game of the global tournament

About Rankings

FIFA World Rankings are supposed to reflect the whereabouts of a particular team's plight at the World Stage and the Rankings are more significant in a major tournament season like the approaching 2014 FIFA World Cup. Apart from assessing relative strengths of the competing teams, Rankings are used to determine the seedings, draws at the World events...
FIFA updates the Rankings every month or so which reflect the performance of a team over the last 4 years... Since the Rankings were introduced in December 1992 when Germany was announced to be the Top team, Brazil held the top echelon for the longest time
The next update of the Ranking would be on the 6th of June... Spain is expected to retain the top position after the end of the Cup
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2:02 AM , , , , , ,

April FIFA World Rankings

Kris
Spain and Germany remained the top two teams to beat but Portugal claimed the podium evicting Argentina down three ranks to joint 6th place with Brazil in the April edition of the World FIFA Rankings announced today. Colombia and Uruguay are the top South American sides ahead of the fan favorites although there isn't much room for complacency here as the top four CONMEBOL teams are seperated by just 12 points.
Greece gained 3 positions to complete the top 10 behind Switzerland and Italy. Netherlands is biggest loser of the top 16 world cup teams  dropping down 4 places to 15th Rank

Spain still have a cushion of 120.31 points at the top of the table and barring any major upsets, will retain its top billing at the end of the cup

About Rankings

FIFA World Rankings are supposed to reflect the whereabouts of a particular team's plight at the World Stage and the Rankings are more significant in a major tournament season like the approaching 2014 FIFA World Cup. Apart from assessing relative strengths of the competing teams, Rankings are used to determine the seedings, draws at the World events...
FIFA updates the Rankings every month or so which reflect the performance of a team over the last 4 years... Since the Rankings were introduced in December 1992 when Germany was announced to be the Top team, Brazil held the top echelon for the longest time
The next update of the Ranking would be on the 8th of May and then another one before the World Cup on the 6th of June... Spain is expected to retain the top position after the end of the Cup
Read More
5:18 AM , , , , , ,

Spain

Kris

Spain - Group B (Netherlands, Chile, Australia)

The World Champions, holding European Champions with consecutive 2008, 2012 titles, the Golden Generation of players, most of them playing for premium clubs... It seems everything is going well for Spain. It might well be. Except for the players aging and Villa losing his touch after a career threatening injury, most of the team's core is still in place and performing satisfactorily. It is no wonder that they are the team to beat not just this time around, they are since the turn of the millennium
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