Action may be taken on Spanish Star Villa
Uh-oh, just one day after a convincing 2-0 defeat of Honduras, tournament favourites Spain may suffer a huge loss for their final group game on Friday. David Villa who scored both goals for Spain in the victory may be suspended for striking a Honduras player and could miss the must-win showdown against Chile.
FIFA has stated they will wait for the match report from Monday’s game from Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura before they decide what to do regarding the incident from the match. Villa was not booked for the incident but FIFA will have to decide what they deem is the appropriate punishment for the incident.
Barcelona’s new recruit was all over the pitch as he scored both goals, hit the crossbar and missed a penalty kick. However he was also all over Honduras’ Emilio Izaguirre as he slapped him as a free kick was being taken towards the end of the first half.
One representative of FIFA stated: "At the moment we have no information on David Villa. We will wait for the referee's report before making any decisions.''
Villa told a Spanish media outlet: “It's not something that I am proud of. They're just instincts, In this case I wasn't expecting (Izaguirre) to tread on me.”
"I was merely standing there and the reaction was to stick my arm out. I'll try in future to keep my cool.''
Certainly losing David Villa would be a huge loss for Spain considering that they face the possibility of elimination into next game. If Spain were to lose or tie, that would open the door for Switzerland to grab the second spot in the group and move on to the last 16.
Spain came into this tournament with many expecting them to stroll past their group and not only that, but they’re expected to win their first World Cup. Many doubters pointed to Spain’s past disappointments in their World Cup history as a way to count Spain out. An opening loss to a plucky Swiss team fuelled the doubters’ thoughts even more.
Even after a 2-0 win against Honduras, many are still insisting that Spain hasn’t played their best game and they may be right. This team is, without a doubt, the most talented team in Group H and maybe the most talented of the 32 teams in the World Cup.
Many scenarios are possible after Friday and while mathematics may be a factor in determining who advances, Espana would be able to ease their minds by winning and not having to worry about the result of the next game. If Spain is defeated by Chile, then Switzerland needs only a tie to eliminate Spain. A tie would mean the Swiss would likely need a win. Other than that it is a matter of goal differential, which at the moment favours Spain.
One thing is for sure, if Spain faced a tough test in Switzerland, Chile may be a tougher test. Although they’re likely through to the last 16, Chile has a chance to win the group with just a draw. If you look at the possible opponents in the next stage, it is in Chile’s interest to win the group because finishing as the runners-up would likely mean a tough matchup against football powerhouses Brazil in the round of 16.
Nobody wants to go up against Brazil so Chile certainly has a lot to play for in their next game. Likewise, the Spaniards have everything to play for. Many may be hoping for Spain to finish runners-up as that could very well mean an epic showdown with Brazil in the next round.
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