World Cup 2010
Spain (2nd) v Switzerland (24th) – Group H
Wednesday 16th June 2010 – 1500hrs
Spain and Switzerland wrap up the opening group games when they clash in their Group H match at Durban.
Both sides qualified via relatively easy groups to book their trips to South Africa.
Spain, who are hotly tipped to top their group will want to get off to a good start in their first two matches (the second, against Honduras) before they meet Chile in the final group fixture.
Spain shrugged off their inconsistent tags when they topped their group by winning all ten matches with an impressive record of 10-0-0 28/5, but in truth they were up against pretty poor opposition.
However, you can only beat the sides put in front of you, and this has also been carried into their warm-up matches. In their last five matches, they thrashed Austria 5-1 & France 2-0 away from home, while on home soil they accounted for Saudi Arabia 3-2, South Korea 1-0 and Poland 6-0 in clinical fashion.
Their squad includes household names such as keeper Pepe Reina (Liverpool), former Liverpool defender Alvaro Arbeloa, along with ex-Man Utd defender Gerard Pique at the back.
In midfield, Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal) and Xabi Alonso will provide the creativity, while Xavi and Andres Iniesta will also provide quality.
In attack, David Villa (tipped for the Golden Boot) in tandem with Fernando Torres, share arguably one of the best striking partnerships in the World Cup and this must surely result in goals as they look to progress through the various stages.
Switzerland also won their group, but like Spain, were in weak company in a group which included Luxembourg and Moldova who won only one game between them (ironically, Luxembourg beating Switzerland 2-1 away!)
That loss seemed to kick start the Scandinavians and they finished with stats of 6-3-1 18/8 to book their place in the finals.
In their lead-up matches, they had some curious results; losing 1-3 and 0-1 to Uruguay and Costa Rica, while holding current World Cup holders Italy to two draws 0-0 and 1-1. Go figure.
Anyway, the Swiss squad do not have the same depth or quality as their Spanish counterparts, especially now that striker Alexander Frei is rated as doubtful for this clash, but may make the bench.
In defence, this will be held together by Philippe Senderos, Reto Ziegler and Grichting.
In midfield, Valon Behrami (West ham) and Gelson Fernandes provide a Premiership feel to their engine-room.
But it’s in attack where they will really struggle to make any impact as goals have been at a premium for them in the past, and I can’t see this changing in this fixture.
Pick: One team only to score @ 1.70 with Sportingbet being my pick as a Spain win holds no value
