France vs Spain: World Cup Friendly Preview and Prediction

Published by William | Filed under Fifa World Cup South Africa 2010, Predictions, Previews

Man, I can smell it in the air. The long 4 years is almost over as the majestic 2010 World Cup South Africa is upon us. This week we get a little bit of a taste of what is to come this summer as many of the world’s best squads, such as Spain, France, Italy, and Brazil, take the pitch in international friendlies this week. Managers across the globe will take this week as an opportunity to assess the talent they have and experiment with different lineups while many other hopeful players will attempt to play their way into starting lineups or to even make their respective rosters. Whilst the end results may not seem to matter, Wednesday’s matches hold a degree of importance that is far greater than most think.

Torres is ready to show the world he’s all grown up.

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3/3 20:00 GMT Spain at France (Stade de France, Paris) – Odds | Stats


Of all the matches taking place on Wednesday, none jumps out off the paper more than the intriguing fixture between European powerhouses France and Spain. Of course all the buzz surrounding Les Bleus is the controversial Henry handball against Ireland that helped secure France’s spot in this summer’s World Cup. Can France put the commotion aside and play their game despite the constant criticism they are sure to receive? Spain, on the other hand, is coming off a Euro 2008 championship and expectations are higher than ever. Is this the year the Spaniards bring home their first World Cup?


Spain:


The defending 2008 European champions have a lot of expectations on their shoulders after winning the event 2 summers ago. However, despite the consensus no. 1 FIFA World Ranking, Spain faltered in this Summer’s Confederations Cup in South Africa, an event they were heavily favored to win. Will South Africa prove to be a thorn in the side of the la Furia Roja? Despite the Confederations Cup gaffe, they have won 40 of 44 matches since defeating England in a friendly in February 2007, including all 10 of their World Cup qualifiers. You can’t ask for much more than that. The Spaniards are simply loaded and are led by the attacking duo of Fernando Torres and David Villa and midfield dream team of Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Iniesta, and Fabregas. The only one who may not feature this Wednesday is Torres who made his first appearance in over a month last week for Liverpool. One man Vicente del Bosque is excited to see is the red hot Sevilla striker Jesus Navas who seems to have finally conquered his homesickness and is expected to be making the trip to South Africa this summer.


France:


While all the chatter is sure to be about les Bleus controversial qualifying winner, people will be overlooking the real issue, that France was an a mere goal away from not qualifying AT ALL! They were extremely shaky in almost every qualifier and have much work to do if they wish to do any damage in South Africa. One thing that could help the Frenchmen regain some of the form that led them to the the 2006 finals is the return of a healthy Franck Ribery. He has been on and off for nearly a year now with a knee injury and they will surely need his veteran assistance this summer. One of France’s big question marks heading into the prestigious event is how will Thierry Henry fair and feature? It is no secret that the former Arsenal striker is aging and with an up and coming Karim Benzema behind him, his time may be running out. Benzema, however, will not feature as he recovers from injury. Coach Raymond Domenech will have a tough time evaluating talent in this game as along with Benzema, Louis Saha, William Gallas, Eric Abidal, Sebastien Squillaci and Andre-Pierre Gignac will all miss Wednesday’s match. Saha was pegged to feature at some point in the match but as a result of a thigh injury, the Everton forward will be replaced by Djibril Cisse.


Prediction:


With France being injury stricken and Spain deploying a near full strength lineup, don’t expect les Bleus to give the Spaniards too much trouble Wednesday night in Paris. Spain will probably impress us with some goals but the question is can they do it in South Africa, where they failed to do it this summer?


Spain 3 – 1 France


Bet of the Match:


Spain at 2.50 from Expekt