Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Spain vs France March 26, 2013
From Sept. 8, 2007, to Oct. 16, 2012, Spain did not draw or lose a single major tournament qualifying match. It won its final four matches of Euro 2008 qualifying, put together perfect qualifying records en route to the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012, then won its first two qualifying matches for the 2014 World Cup. That's 24 consecutive wins in major qualifiers.
France ended that streak back in October, snatching a stoppage equalizer in Madrid to seal a shocking point and grab the upper hand on the Spaniards en route to the 2014 World Cup. On Friday, with both sides almost certainly looking ahead to Tuesday's rematch, France coasted to a win over Georgia while Spain slipped up, inexplicably dropping two more points at home, this time to Finland. Les Bleus now head into Tuesday's match two points ahead of Spain, knowing they only need a draw to put themselves in pole position to qualify for the World Cup directly and send Spain to a playoff.
However, given the recent form of the two sides and their match in Madrid, a draw shouldn't be France's goal. There's no reason to believe it doesn't have an excellent chance to do something that only one team -- Switzerland -- has managed to do in any competitive fixture since 2006 by defeating La Furia Roja. A victory would give France a five-point cushion, and given the relative weakness of Group I, it would be unthinkable for France to throw that away and fail to win the group.
Team news
France doesn't have any serious fitness issues among the players it called up onto its squad. Its midfield is light on experience, but that's down more to Didier Deschamps' current preferences and form than injuries. Lassana Diarra, Alou Diarra, Yann M'Vila and Etienne Capoue are among the central midfielders recently part of France teams that have been left out. Samir Nasri has also been left out, along with experienced defenders Philippe Mexes, Adil Rami and Bacary Sagna.
Spain has some minor fitness issues among players on its team. Jordi Alba isn't expected to be available against France, and should be replaced by Nacho Monreal. Xavi Hernandez's fitness is also in question. Victor Valdes has taken over in goal in the absence of injured captain Iker Casillas. Carles Puyol, Fernando Torres, Roberto Soldado, Fernando Llorente and Javi Martinez are among the other big names who were left out of the Spain squad.
