EURO 2012 Qualification– Match Preview: Scotland versus Spain
The newly crowned world champions, Spain take on Scotland in an attempt to seal their qualification for the European Championships of 2012 which are scheduled to be held in Poland and Ukraine. Scotland missed out on the last European
championships of 2008 as well as the 2010 FIFA World Cup but with their current squad they have got a very good chance of making it to EURO 2012 but their qualification group this time around is no doubt the group of death. The chance of taking on Spain with
most of the Iberian stars missing from Vicente Del Bosque’s line up on home turf is a welcome one for Spain.
Scotland have played a total number of three qualifiers up till now but they are still second in their group ranking as the first place spot is occupied by the La Furia Roja. Out of those three matches, the Scottish national team
has won one, drawn one and lost one, whereas the Spanish have played two qualifiers thus far and have characteristically won them both. Scotland’s only defeat in the current qualification campaign came in their latest match against the Czech Republic, it was
a game which was full of lessons for the Scots who lost in Prague by a goal to nil to a resurgent Czech side.
Spain won their last qualifier on 8th October, 2010 against Lithuania. Despite speculation that the men in red might struggle without the likes of Fabregas and Torres, the world champions gave their European neighbours
a thorough beating as Fernando Llorente fired his team to a three goals to one win over the Lithuanians. Spain will be looking forward to their matchup against Scotland as the Scots will be without a host of first team players such as Alan Hutton, Gary Caldwell,
Steven Whittaker and Graham Dorrans. All of these injury riddled players are set to miss out for Scotland. Hutton’s injury will be a particularly hurtful one as the right back has been on a terrific run of form for his club side, Tottenham Hotspurs.
Gary Caldwell’s experience will also be missed by the Scottish. However, a late fitness test is scheduled to take place for Scotland’s match against Spain; therefore some of these players might be in contention for a place on the
substitution bench. Another worrying factor for the Scots will be their first team captain, Darren Fletcher. The Manchester United man has been a regular starter for Sir Alex Ferguson’s team thus far but he is currently suffering from fatigue. Fletcher did
play against Czech Republic in Prague but he sustained a minor injury during the match. Nonetheless, Darren is expected to wear the arm band and lead the Scottish national team against the might of the world champions.
Barry Robson is a confirmed absentee for the Scottish national team as he is serving his one-match suspension ban, on the other hand Lee McCulloch is set to make his comeback to the team after serving his one game suspension for
the Scots. Crag Levein came under criticism from the British press after he used a pragmatic 4-6-0 formation against the Czech’s, playing at home the Scottish national team manager is anticipated to go for the win against the Spanish rather than a draw. Alternatively,
Spain have a host of injuries themselves, they are set to approach the match with a second tier squad as they have Xavi, Torres, Fabregas, Pedro and Raul Albiol all missing through their own respective injury problems. Xabi Alonso is also a doubt for the match
against Scotland but the Real Madrid midfielder is expected to recover in time to participate in the match at the Hampden Park.
The man to watch out for as far as Spain are concerned will be their striker, Fernando Llorente. The Athletic Bilbao striker was the star of the show as Spain defeated Lithuania as he more than made up for the loss of Fernando
Torres. Spain are a tough outfit for anyone to conquer but Scotland do have what it takes to give the world champions a fright. Nonetheless, the amount of talent even in a injury laden Spanish squad is shocking to say the least, therefore the Iberian giants
are favourites to win this match albeit with minimal margin.
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