Facts, Stats and All Thats

FIFA World Cup 2010

The two day break in the World Cup has given us some time to gather our collective wits about ourselves and take a break. Though the same cannot obviously be said about the hundreds of analysts and number crunchers around the world. Here’s a few fun facts and stats of what has transpired so far….

If you have been asleep, in a bunker, or in DPR Korea the last few weeks, you can be forgiven if you aren’t up to date with the happenings of the World Cup. So here’s some tit-bits to get you going at the water-cooler chat.

1. Wayne Rooney got dispossessed of the ball 52 times, while in possession – the most by any player in the World Cup so far.

2. The average number of goals so far in the World Cup per game comes to 2.20. The lowest so far was in 1990, which was 2.21 goals per game.

3. The Nigerian President banned the national team from international football for two years. English fans are claiming to do the same with the English team as well, with some of them going so far as writing letters to clubs about halving the stars’ salaries in games.

4. Beckham has a chance to become next England’s manager. A recent poll in Britain put him at only a 16 to 1 shot to replace Capello – good odds!

5. Germany have stoked the fire ahead of their game against Argentina – calling them swarthy, conniving, tango-dancing cheats. Kind of true, considering Maradona’s antics and Tevez’s offside goal.

6. One of the funniest moments of the tournament, and I say this as a neutral observer, was Dutch striker Van Persie pleading to the referee that he couldn’t hear the whistle blown over all the vuvuzelas in the stadium. He would have been booked otherwise for continuing play even after being flagged offside, but the referee felt his case carried weight.

7. Ten of the worst referees of the tournament have been sent home. And guess what – the referees in the spotlight for the glaring mistakes in this World Cup are among them too.

8. It’s not everyday you see an English referee explaining to a bunch of South Americans about why he is booking them – and making a hash of it.

9. Kaka’s sending off during the match against Ivory Coast was both ridiculous and outrageous at the same time. He was forty yards away when the referee decided to send him off. He’s been playing with a big grin ever since.

10. This is the first time when a host nation has exited during the group stages itself. This is also the first instance when both the finalists of the previous World Cup exited during the group stages itself.

11. Most of the so-called superstars have exited one by one. Rooney, Lampard, Gerrard, Ronaldo, Drogba…only Messi seems to be enjoying himself. Note that four out of eight teams remaining are South American – maybe the balance of power is shifting?

12. France refusing to practice. Altercation between Anelka and Domenech. Domenech’s speech of using ‘revolutionary tactics at the World Cup’ coming to naught.

13. The pigeon perched on the Algerian goal during their match with England didn’t move at all. Not that it had to – but none of the English shots even came close to it.

14. The story England’s fans were so pissed that they stole the team’s undies and equipment. Turned out to be a hoax story.

15. The octopus Paul predicting each and every of Germany’s results correctly. For anyone who doesn’t know, it has also predicted that Germany will win against Argentina in the quarter finals.

16. Portugal’s captain Ronaldo spits in the direction of the camera. Not that he spit AT it. But it has sent headlines blazing.

17. DPR Korea registering a striker as a goalkeeper, in an underhand way to sneak in more striking options. FIFA wouldn’t hear of it; and the player was not allowed to play as an outfield player.

18. Rooney’s outburst at the English fans who booed the team during their games.

19. New Zealand went home unbeaten in the World Cup after three draws in the group stages. Italy finished below them.

20. Capello claiming that beer was the secret behind England’s only win at the tournament. Looks like they were still hung over during the German game.

More talking points to come by.

Was England ever Truly in the Race?

England, the Three Lions, had always been touted as a contender, and their exemplary qualifying campaign lay testimonial to the fact that they were indeed a force to be reckoned with. Hard core critics realized that while the World Cup glory might be a little far fetched for Capello’s boys, a top- four finish was certainly within reach. Boy, were they wrong!!

So what went wrong?

1. Wazza Rooney

For all the brilliance he showed during the Premier League, Rooney was nowhere near as influential during any of the matches he played in. For Manchester United, he was drafted in a duo with Ronaldo, Tevez, Berbatov, even Mihael Owen. WHen he was up on his own, too, he had Giggs, Valencia in support.

FUN STAT 1: Wayne Rooney has gotten tackled of the ball while in possession 32 times this World CUp, more than any other player in the tournament.

FUN STAT 2: Rooney has failed to score in his last nine games for England, his longest barren run for the national team.

FUN STAT 3: Rooney completed only 55 per cent of his passes for England against Germany – the lowest rate in the game.

The Boy Wonder just looked a pale shadow of the player who has won Premier League titles, a Champions’ League trophy, voted as the PFA Player of the Year, nominated for the Young Player of the Year, and what not. Where was the hunger and the versatility that prompted rumors about hi price tag being 90 million pounds?

2. ‘Terry’ble Defending:

Terry has seen the lowest point in his career now. The game against Germany was probably his worst in an England shirt. The oh-so inspirational “captain, leader, legend” at Chelsea was simply found lacking in positioning, speed and strength as Germany made a mockery of him. Call it the infamous interviews that has given, or the loss of captaincy which he claimed to have gotten over, it never really came together for Terry. And once your most experienced central defender is floundering, the backbone of the team cracks.

3. Capello (noun): Rigidity

Of course we are going to point fingers now, fellas. While Rooney might not like it, fans have indeed been let down. Among the meek rumors that dared to float around about the Italian manager, were those who whispered about his strict regime and attitude. Not that I have anything against it, but it certainly incenses us when translated on the pitch. Emile Heskey and Wright Phillips when the team is 4-1 down? And if three first round matches didn’t teach you that the front line wasn’t getting the goals, then I don’t know what did.

4. Off-Field:

England came into the World Cup with more than enough of the share of drama already. Ferdinand couldn’t play, and Gerrard took over at a very late hour. Beckham was injured, but offered moral support from the bench..and he did cut a desolate figure yesterday, not even being able to bring himself to watch the final few minutes. Terry and Bridge. Terry saying things to the public media Capello wasn’t too happy with. And worst of all – the complaint from the players that they were getting bored, and cursing Capello’s rules of not allowing their WAGs  to stay with them at least till the quarter finals. They are playing for their country, in the world’ biggest sporting event. And complained about being bored! The signs were there for all to see.

Karma indeed caught up with the team at the most inopportune moment, with Lampard’s goal getting disallowed. (I refer to 1966 Eng-Germany)

All in all, this was neither the team we expected to see, nor the team we betted to reach the semifinals. Even Sven Goran Erikssen seems to have done better, with the Ivory Coast, inspite of  being appointed as manager at a very late hour indeed. And the English team’s ride at the World CUp 2010, South Africa, was short. And wasn’t even fun while it lasted.

Time for introspection now, England.

The One-Goal Phenomenon: A Goal Analysis

As can be seen clearly, this has been a defensive minded World Cup so far. 14 games have ended 1-0 and 7 games so far (including all pre-quarter finals) have ended goalless ( Japan v/s Paraguay penalties were taken as a 0-0 result).

26 games out of 56 have been decided by a goal difference of just 1.

14 others were draws, out of which 6 were goalless.

In fact, the only team that has by a single goal on more than one occasion is Chile, which was touted to be one of the most attack-minded teams of the tournament!

31 of the 48 games have seen two goals or less, whilst only three games have seen five or more goals.

What has caused this decline in goals? I remember a time when Arsenal were called the ’1-0 Arsenal’ as they grinded out result after dull result, one after the other. Is this similar?

One of the factors involved is obviously the Jabulani ball. It really seems to be as bad as it has been made out. Does anyone remember the dip it took on Ronaldo’s free-kick yesterday against Spain? Casillas almost spilled that one and pushed it back right in front of him towards a lurking attacker. Luckily for him and Spain, the defense got to the ball first. Green’s blunder against USA was another high profile error. There have been several more as well.

The argument you might make here is, if the ball is so difficult for keepers to handle, then why have we still seen so few goals? It has turned out that teams are very wary when keeping the ball. They know pelting their shots from long distance is almost certainly going to end in disappointment, given the ball’s weight and spin. More shots have ended in the crowds than seems worthy of a national team player. But they might not be to blame after all.

Only on a couple of occasions has the ball actually done enough to bring despair among goalkeepers though, most notably Maicon’s goal.

The other reason is that the smaller teams, or the more unfancied ones, have come to realize that the best way to attack is actually counter-attack. Teams like DPR Korea have understood that the drill is to defend and defend deep, pull out the oppositions’ players, and hit them on the break. While it has worked pretty well for some more than others, you cannot expect many goals to go in when the opposition has every man behind the ball. (Note that the comparison to DPR Korea does not stand ground as they let in seven goals against Portugal – but you get my gist).

When you see the attack-mindedness of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, in fact most of the South American countries, all the weaker teams can do is to come onto the field with a defensive mindset, looking to dry out the goals before snaring away a chance or two of their own. No doubt a good tactic – something that Jose Mourinho would be proud of, probably – but that’s what has caused the dearth of goals at this World Cup so far.

Beckham next England Coach?!? – The WC Hots and What Nots II

Quite a few shockers in the last few days, and the excitement only gets better and better as teams batter each other in an attempt to win the ultimate prize – and some respect.

David Beckham the new England coach ?

The Hots:

1. David Beckham has gained popularity recently to replace Capello as English coach.

Becks, who missed the World Cup due to an injury, was seen on the bench for England’s matches, as he tried to offer moral support to a severely under-performing squad. I don’t know whether it was the sight of him in that stylish suit on the bench, or some one’s idea of a joke, but Beckham is now only a 16 to 1 shot away from being England’s next manager. What with every critic and pundit clamoring for an English manager who also places more emphasis on the youth system, Becks might actually be tempted!

2. Robinho was simply inspirational yesterday against Chile.

Say what you want about the guy’s flops at Manchester City – but Robinho sure does put a lot of pride when in the national jersey. His goal was simply sublime, and his work rate was even more commendable. He might not have played at the same position as Pele, but maybe – just maybe – he is finally showing us why he was once touted as the next best forward. Or maybe it was his beard that  changed his fortunes. When asked about it, Robinho simply said that he had forgotten to shave.

3. Joaquim Loew explained his team strategy against England.

The stylish German manager talked about his tactics to exploit England’s slow defense to the press, and how to use the space left behind by Lampard and Gerrard. And that too all in front of Capello, who was waiting right behind Loew to talk to the press next. What class!  Full marks in my book.

4. Mueller scored two goals in the second half against England to quash whatever hopes they had left.

All of 20 years, Mueller was singled out by his manager as a very cool finisher and a predator in the box. Not that The Brits needed any reminding of the fact.

5. Maarten Stekelenburg, Dutch goalkeeper.

No real reason, I didn’t put him on this list for his excellent instinctive saves in the second half that sent Slovakia packing. He gave away a penalty in the last minute of the game after charging and bringing down Vettek, who coolly scored his fourth goal of the tournament from the spot. That penalty scored me a cool 16 points in the Sportskeeda Predictor and pushed me into the top 10! All hail! 

The What-Nots:

1. England: For a whole 2 minutes when they scored and had a goal disallowed, England looked every inch the team that bulldozed through their qualifying stages. Too bad about the other 88 minutes, though.

2. England: The Lions deserve another special mention, for their amazing defending that Capello could not believe he was watching. As Terry and Upton were made mockery of by the German front line, at least Ashley Cole and Glen Johnson had okay shifts.

3. Carlos Tevez: Whether he really is a top class striker is beyond question. But the way he celebrated his goal even though he knew he was clearly offside was worth watching.

4. Sepp Blatter and the Giga Fifa mistakes: Goal-line technology and video technology have been the war-cries issuing forth from all corners of the world. Frank Lampard’s disallowed goal and Tevez’s offside that was not given – in addition to showing it on the big screen in the stadiums – might have put crosshairs on FIFA’s head.

5. England: Oh yes, one more mention of the team that many of my friends were rooting for. And this special mention goes to Wayne Rooney who has screwed my Sportskeeda All-Star points!

Time for John Terry to start Tweeting

John Terry loves the idea of a Press Conference

It seems we have heard it all. And then some. And out of nowhere, the so called ‘John Terry saga’ rears its ugly head yet again. Of course, I am a Chelsea fan. Of course, I do not like the allegations against him, even if they are true. Not that I consider his behavior inspirational. But enough already. Oh yes, the last that the so-called pundits have come up with, is his “factionist” remarks in the press conference, that has (apparently) left all of England seething.

Terry has been called so many names in the last few months that it’s hard to keep track of all his (mis)accomplishments! The latest among these so-called atrocities, is the public claim that Terry made, wanting his (now ex-)Chelsea teammate to get more time  on the field for England than on the bench. Oh yes, what the  World Cup needed was just this. We don’t care about the Anti-Vuvuzela Campaigns, the Anelka-Domenech issue, the French team skipping practice, the Maradonas claiming that they prefer women, the host nation getting knocked out, the North Koreans requesting to be called by their proper names only, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – (but DPR takes so much lesser time to type), the Spanish loss, the German loss, the French loss, and what not.

Not to say England haven’t had their fare share of attention. Two dull draws at the group stages and everyone claims that the multimillionaire boys don’t want to spoil their white kits, with an eye on the pictures in the next day’s papers. What a load of tosh. Of course they are multimillionaires. But they are multimillionaires for a reason – they are among the best at what they do! Look at their qualifying campaign. Anyone who saw England in these matches can be forgiven if he said a month ago that England was going to win this World Cup. The second Golden Generation 34 years, a charm?

B******* Behind the back

Now Terry speaks out his mind to the public about what his team selection would be? Papers and reputed columnists are clamoring for his head. Letters might be on their way to Capello right now pleading him to a Domenech and send Terry the Anelka way. Apparently the so-called Player Power that these guys are used to at the Chelsea club has an effect on how they function while in their respective national jerseys as well. Well then, what about Lampard? Has he been involved in such matters? And Malouda? And Ashley Cole? Next we come to the fact, that TERRY IS NO LONGER THE CAPTAIN OF THE ENGLISH TEAM. Who scored the only goal that the sorry team has on their score sheets? Their new captain, Gerrard. So why the blazes should people pay so much attention and criticism to what Terry says? Oh yes, the oft-floated theory that Terry has not gotten over his demotion from captaincy, and that he will jump to any tactic to gain back his lost power in the dressing room. Well, Terry was sacked months ago! He knew beforehand that he would be sacked! He has still been the captain of his club! He has witnessed history while leading Chelsea FC to a double! Do the theories stand ground now too?

Fabio Capello animated

I loved a comment on a forum not unlike this one. “John Terry does press conference. John Terry says what most of the nation and all the hacks having been saying since Friday. Hacks praise John Terry’s honesty. Everyone goes to bed. Hacks lay in to John Terry for ‘attempted coup’. Sheep-like general public outraged with John Terry. Scapegoat ready in case of bad result on Wednesday.” Sums it up quite nicely, don’t you think? And a nice ring to it, too.

I have always been a fan of John Terry. I would love it if he reads my article! So here goes a personal message from me (and all the other fans) : Mr. Terry, we are delighted to have been brought up watching you play for club and country, putting your heart and soul into the sport, your blood and tears into the fans, and your sweat on the training grounds. But crowd tendencies to point fingers (justified or otherwise) may hurt your overall reputation and stature. Do not let it bother you. Do not give press conferences to air your views, especially if you are not captain. But by all means, use Twitter. (if you ain’t doing so already). Yeah, tweeting has it’s own share of scandals, but at least that forum is personal. Your views can be debated and clarified with you. Not like this, behind your back. Not like this, that leads to the the so-called “disharmony” in the English camp. Not like this, when England need to pull their socks up in the last game of qualifying to avoid going home in what would be a major upset.

P.S – The above article are purely the author’s views. Any comments or debates are more than welcome. The gist of the article is that I am a Chelsea fan, but don’t really care for the latest Terry conference. I do, however, make it a point NOT to go along with the public outcry.

Top Five Substitutes To Watch Out For

Too often have we seen the words ‘impact substitutes’ in recent times. Theo Walcott has been a one, now Thierry Henry is being used as one as well.

While every team at this World Cup relies on such players to make an impact coming off the bench, you will not find them on the coach’s top list. Put this down to lack of experience, or stamina, or both, these players have what it takes to alter the flow of a game in the short time they step onto the pitch. Here’s my take on the top fringe players to keep an eye out for – the World Cup will be their chance to prove their worth, and attract interest from top clubs across the globe.

1. Danny Miguel Alves (Portugal/Zenit St. Petersburg):

A Venezuelan-born attacking midfielder, who has impressed in Russia with first Dynamo Moscow and then Zenit St Petersburg, who signed him for €30m two summer ago. Plays centrally and drives directly at goal.

Why: Because Portugal’s midfield is far too functional and not creative enough, with Deco increasingly playing a static midfield role rather than looking to support the forwards. Nani’s injury has further damaged Portugal’s creativity, and Alves basically gives Portugal exactly what they’re crying out for.

2. Riccardo Montolivo (Italy/Fiorentina): A central midfielder with excellent passing skills. Neither an attacking or defensive midfielder, he took over the Fiorentina captaincy in January. At 25, can no longer be described as promising – now needs to step up and prove his quality.

Why: Italy lack a trequartista and their most talented midfield playmaker, Andrea Pirlo, may miss the first two games through injury. Claudio Marchisio may be favourite in the centre of midfield for Marcello Lippi, but Montolivo offers a more intelligent option, and probably a closer resemblance to Pirlo.

3. Fabio Coentrao (Portugal/Benfica): A 22-year-old former left winger who has been pushed back to left-back at Benfica, where he has just won the league title. He is incredibly skilful for a full-back, loves to get forward and has the stamina to do so for a whole game. He does sometimes look like a winger playing out of position though, and gives away too many free-kicks.

Why: Because he might provide the most penetration from any Portuguese player. If Carlos Queiroz persists with a Pepe-Meireles-Deco midfield, Portugal will need their full-backs to provide support and direct running. That’s unlikely to come too much from Paulo Ferreira on the right, and Coentrao will be playing behind either Cristiano Ronaldo or Simao Sabrosa, both of whom like to cut in onto their stronger right foot. An overlapping full-back is a must, and Coentrao will do that far more than the alternative, Duda.

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The top five Subs

The top five Subs

4. Javier Pastore (Argentina/Palermo): A 20-year-old enganche who has impressed in his debut season for Sicilian club Palermo. A creator rather than a goalscorer himself, he plays just behind the forwards and has both passing ability and a love for running directly at defences. He only won his first cap two weeks ago against Canada.

Why: Because Argentina don’t really have anyone in his mould. They have Carlos Tevez, Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero, but these are deep forwards rather than attacking midfielders. Juan Veron plays in the role Pastore would look to fill, but doubts remain about his ability to compete for 90 minutes in the centre of midfield, and he has an unfortunate characteristic of looking like a luxury player when things are going badly. Pastore would play slightly higher up the pitch and look to play the killer pass.

5. Christian Eriksen (Denmark/Ajax): A small creative central midfielder for Ajax, at 18 he is the youngest player in the tournament. He only has 15 senior club appearances and three international caps, but there have been calls for Morten Olsen to give him a starting place.

Why: Because he is exactly what Denmark are lacking. They are relying on a bunch of rather elderly players to create chances, and Nicklas Bendtner’s injury problems aren’t helping the situation. Eriksen offers a great turn of pace and direct running at goal, and could be a game-changer from the bench.

My All-Time World Cup’s Greatest Eleven

Everyone agrees that good players are few – but great players are rare. A good player who takes on additional responsibility and performs admirably under pressure can become a great player. The time has come for me to pick (in my opinion), the greates eleven ever to have played the FIFA World Cup.

I have included 1 goalkeeper, 4 defenders, 4 midfielders and 2 attackers in a classic 4-4-2 formation for my dream team. I have also included 1 defender, 1 midfielder, 1 striker and 1 goalkeeper as substitutes.

Note that the years mentioned in brackets do not refer to the years that the players appeared in the World Cup, but the years in which their performances atht ehWorld Cup have deemed them worthy to be a part of the all-time greatest squad.

1. Goalkeeper: Walter Zenga (Italy, 1990)

Though Barthez and Buffon conceded the least number goals ever when their countries have won the World Cup, Walter Zenga was responsible for the most number of minutes keeping clean sheets (517 minutes – 5 clean sheets).

2. Defense: Roberto Carlos (Brazil, 2002), Paolo Maldini(Italy, 1990), Franz Beckenbauer (Germany, 1966 and 1970) and Cafu (Brazil, 1998)

Roberto Carlos and Paolo Maldini on the same team? Well, I cannot seem to keep either of the left backs away from my list. Cafu’s inspirational play during Brazil’s run to the finals in 1998 makes him an automatic choice for any squad. And of course, who can forget Beckenbauer, the father of the libero, and his goalscoring antics from midfield and defense in the 1966 and 1970 World Cups. In fact, he dislocated his shoulder during the semi-finals against Italy in 1970, but  played on with his arm in a sling, in what has been dubbed The Game of the Century.

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zenga_173394s

3. Mid-field: Zico (Brazil, 1982), Zinedine Zidane (France, 1998 and 2006), Diego Maradona (Argentina, 1986) and Johann Cruyff (Netherlands, 1974)

Zico, often called the ‘White Pele’, had an amazing tournament in 1982, when he became known as one of the world’s best dribblers and finishers ever.

Zindeine Zidane’s inspirational form led the French to their World Cup glory at home in 1998. Again in 2006, the odds seemed to be stacked against the French, but sublime form from Zizou saw them reach the finals.

Who can forget Diego Maradona’s tournament in ‘86? The Hand of God, followed by the Goal of the Century put him on the pedestal of eternal greatness.

Johan Cruyff was one of the most devastating mid-fielders ever to have graces the football field. He is widely regarded as one the best players ever.

4. Forwards: Ronaldo (Brazil, 2002), Pele (Brazil, 1970)

Found it extremely difficult to pick only teo forwards. Ronaldo’s form in front of goal in 1998 and 2002 will always put him on any goalscorer’s list. And what more can be said about pele? The Black peral joins Ronaldo in an all-Brazilian attack.

5. Substitutes: Bobby Charlton (England, 1966), Romario (Brazil, 1994), Bobby Moore (England, 1966) and Gianluigi Buffon (Italy, 2006)

Of course, I have not been able to name so many other great players, and it feels like no single list can do justice to all of them. Readers are welcome to form their own opinions and discuss them.

Why Spain Might use a Rotation Policy

Spain are one of the favorites at the World Cup since their Euro triumph.

What an opening three days of the World Cup! It has given us nothing less than the drama expected. What with the noise of the vuvuzelas, the hype around Maradona and his squad, Green’s blunder and Australia being mauled by Germany yesterday, we might forget that the most exciting teams of the tournament – Netherlands, Brazil and Spain are yet to play their first match.

So far we have seen 16 teams, and the next three days will acquaint us with the other 16 as well. I can’t  wait for Spain to take the field and show us if they are really worth all the expectations.

Why is Spain one of the favorites? Their results speak for themselves – Del Bosque have led Spain to victory in an incredible 33 of their last 34 games – and they have lost just once in his 48 games in charge. Ever since their Euro victory two years ago, Spain seem to have shed their ‘Chokers’ tag at the big tournaments, and look like a highly professional unit.

In fact, Spain have so many amazing players in their squad, that it’s hard to see which ones the manager actually names in their starting eleven.

Two years ago, Spain’s run to glory was largely attributed to the presence of Marcos Senna in mid-field, just ahead of the defense. This time, though, he is not a part of the squad, and Del Bosque might make the highly unpopular choice of playing both Alonso and Busquets deep in midfield.

This of course, alters the style of play, with Spain being forced to play a man less upfront. Xavi might have to play the link between defensive and offensive, connecting the midfield passes to Iniesta on the left, David Silva on the right, or Villa/Torres up ahead.

Vicente Del Bosque has an extremely talented squad at his disposal.

The majority of Spanish fans (and EPL fans) will want either Alonso or Busquets to be dropped to accommodate Fabregas in midfield, or Torres in attack, but I doubt Del Bosque will do that. Nor will he risk losing width by taking out Iniesta or Silva. And on the question of whether Torres should play instead of Villa, their international stats speak for themselves – Villa has scored 38 goals in 58 games, whereas Torres has scored 24 in 73.

Why would Spain adopt a player-rotation policy?

Firstly, Spain’s players have injured over the course of the season. Fabregas has played less than 80 minutes since his injury against Barcelona. Torres and Iniesta have plagued by injuries all season. Xavi was doubt a for the World Cup.

Secondly, Del Bosque has the pleasant but important headache of leaving out at least two world-class players on the bench every game. With Fabregas and Torres (and even Jesus Navas) on the bench, he runs the risk of being blamed for his team selection should Spain lose a game. It is only logical that he should field different line-ups for different games. It’ll also keep his opposition managers guessing his tactics till the last second.

Torres and Fabregas look most likely to start on the bench.

Most imporantly, Spain begin their tournament on 16th June, as the last side of the tournament. Which means, should Spain reach the finals along with France, who played on the first day of the tournament, Spain would have played an equal number games in five days lesser. It makes sense to keep players fresh by benching them at crucial stages.

Either way, Del Bosque is certainly in an enviable position by having such an amazing array of talent at his disposal. Should Spain go on to win this World Cup, their domination of the sport for the last four years will have proved themselves to be one of the top sides in history as well.