FIFA World Cup 2010 Spain Vs Portugal Players to Watch Out For
Spain will take on Portugal in the second round of the World Cup in what is expected to be one of the most highly anticipated games of the World Cup so far. There would be key players to watch out for on both the teams, who would try to control the game in order for their team to come out on top at the end of the ninety minutes.
On the Spanish side the first real player who needs to have a solid game is, Casillas, he is going to be bombarded by shots left and right with the likes of Ronaldo, on the opposing side. The note able fact over here is that Casillas and Ronaldo play for Real Madrid so they would already be aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Ahead of him in defense Gerrard Pique needs to pull the strings, with the aging Puyol not in his prime any more the young Barcelona star needs to make sure the back four are in sync with one another if they hope to repel the constant attack of the on rushing Portuguese. But at the same time the Portuguese will try to draw the defense to commit fouls on them in hopes to getting some of the players sent off.
In the midfield Xavi as always will be creating plays left and right and will be looking to play the killer pass to the on rushing strikers. If Spain want to control the momentum of the game then Xavi will need to be in top form, with his precision passing and ball control, any mistakes that are made in the midfield could and most probably will result in a Portuguese goal, which is why Xavi needs to show the same form he showed for his club all season long.
Lastly the main goal threat for the Spanish will be the inform striker David Villa, having already scored three goals in three games at the tournament so far, he will be looking to add to that tally against Portugal and his team will be looking to him to give them the advantage against the opposition up front.
On the other hand the Portuguese have their own key players, Eduardo the goal keeper has not let a goal past him so far. He will definitely hope to maintain that form going into the game against the reigning European champions. Coentrao the Portuguese side back will need to be on top of his game if he hopes to prevent the crosses from the wing to come in, since Spain is a team that likes to cross a lot, it will be up to Coentrao to prevent that from happening because even slacking for a minute or two would allow the Spaniards to get that one killer pass which could help change the match.
In the midfield Raul Meireles and Tiago need to continue the form that they showed against the Koreans. Though there is a significant difference between the playing caliber of the Spaniards and the Koreans, the dynamic midfielders need to try and re ignite the spark they showed in that game. Up front the Portuguese have former world player of the year, Cristiano Ronaldo. The mercurial forward will have to remember that the Spanish like to stay in the oppositions half, so he can hit them on the break and with his mesmerizing pace and skillful feet he shouldn’t have any difficulty getting past the last defender or two in hopes of getting in a one on one situation with the Spanish goal keeper.
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