The UEFA World Cup 2014 Qualifiers resume Tuesday with 22 matches, but one will garner the most attention as heavy weight teams Spain and France face off for what could be the deciding match of Group I. It seems a foregone conclusion that Georgia, Finland, and Belarus have little to no hope of making it out of the group as Spain and France have been the best teams in the group. But no one knows which of these two teams will win the group. The winner makes it to the World Cup 2014 while the runner-up must still wade through a playoff round in which they face-off twice against a wild card team to determine if they make it to the tournament.
Spain is the defending champion and looked tremendous on Friday in a 4-0 win over Belarus. The Eastern Europeans looked futile against Spain as they failed to generate a flowing passing game and were unable to create any dangerous chances against Spanish keeper Iker Casillas. Meanwhile Spain was dangerous from the get go and even hit a post in the opening moments of the game. They eventually got a controversial goal from Jordi Alba that looked off-sides on replays, but after that goal they got another three uncontested ones from Pedro to seal up a much needed lopsided win. Spain had been criticized after their opening qualifier match against Georgia back in September for lacking the killer instinct and offensive creativity. That was certainly not the case as Spain could have won by a more if David Villa had not hit the post on one attempt or if Fabregas had not hit the post in the opening minutes of the match.
Also worthy of note is the fact that Casillas broke Spain's record of 725 minutes without conceding a goal. The only question for Spain is at center forward. They played with a false nine to start off the last game and eventually resorted to David Villa. Villa likely does not start but it is curious to see if Del Bosque decides to put more pressure on the French defense right from the start with a striker or if he goes back to the winning lineup from Friday.
Their opponents did not play a qualifying match but competed in a friendly against Japan. On home turf, Les Bleus were unable to generate any buzz and lost 1-0 on a late goal for Japan despite dominating possession and creating 20 shots on goal. Much was expected from them heading into this match, but they lacked the finishing touch against a squad they were expected to beat. They will be without the banned Samir Nasri, Hatem Ben Afra, and Yani M'Villa. The latter two were suspended after arguments over unpaid bonuses. Also out are Abou Diaby, Alou Diarra, and Rio Mavuba; all central to this squad. Karim Benzema, Patrice Evra, and Franck Ribery will be relied upon to carry this squad against the deepest midfield in the world.
Start Time: 3 p.m. EDT
Predictions: Bleacher report's Nathan Judah has Spain winning this one 3-0 because he does not feel that the French are deep enough to compete with Spain. His colleague Nicholas Goss feels an upset could be in the air. Sports Illustrated states that the odds are against France. The Sport Campus also feels strongly in favor of a 2-0 Spanish win. They also felt that Spain's deft was too much to handle and that France would struggle to create without Nasri.
Latinospost's prediction is also a Spanish Victory. Spain is at home and in seemingly top form. Their 4-0 win has undoubtedly elevated their confidence and they will feel more relaxed to play in front of their fans. Predicted score is 2-0 Spain.