2014 World Cup - Group B Preview

Group B in the 2014 World Cup contains the outstanding team of the last decade of international football, and arguably the best international team in history. These could be a final hurrah for a supreme Spain team, and will almost certainly be the final appearances of some of the absolute premier names of international football over the last ten years. Xavi Hernandez, Iker Casillas and David Villa may be among the names who will call time of their international careers after the Brazilian tournament.

Spain’s domestic clubs have been incredibly strong over the last few years, but it is a testimony to the strength of Spanish clubs that they currently hold both major European competitions, the European Super Cup, the Club World Championships, while the national team holds both the European Championships and the World Cup. Now the national team are bidding to become the third nation to win back-to-back World Cups, but also to be the first nation in history to win four consecutive major international tournaments.

Just breaking down the incredible options at his disposal to a final 23 will be a tough job for Vicente del Bosque. Truly world-class players such as Juan Mata and Thiago Alcântara may not make the final cut, while the Real Madrid midfielder Isco, who was named the best young player in Europe just two years ago, didn’t even make the 30-man squad from which the Spain World cup squad will be selected.

The only slight question mark over Spain is up front. There is no questioning the strength of their defence, they have an embarrassment of riches in terms of goalkeepers, and their midfield is almost ridiculously strong. However, Diego Costa, the incumbent striker in the squad, is a doubt for the World Cup, having picked up a hamstring injury in Atletico Madrid’s final league game of the season. Alvaro Negredo has desperately struggled for goals of late, David Villa is in the winter of his career, while Fernando Torres has flopped at Chelsea. So Spain are short in this area, but should still get through this group despite some challenging opposition.

This is a tricky group for Spain, though, with two capable teams also competing for a knockout place. Chile and the Netherlands are both top class teams. Chile beat England at Wembley earlier this season, and have a strong side, with Barcelona’s Alexis Sanchez very much their star man, although Arturo Vidal of Juventus is about as good a midfield player as anyone will be able to field during the Brazilian tournament.

The Netherlands team is perhaps ageing a little, and there will be concerns that they’ll have the legs to compete in South America. Household names such as Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder have gone a little over the hill in recent years, but even though Arjen Robben is also in his thirties, the Netherlands still look to have a formidable midfield and attack, and I expect them to narrowly edge Chile out in the race for the last sixteen.

Selections: Spain and the Netherlands to reach last sixteen

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19/05/2014     © Frixo 2026