The defending champs play one of their most important matches against Belarus on Friday.
A lot of drama has been surrounding the Spanish of late. Iker Casillas' comments about the defending champs not having to qualify for the next world cup have been critiqued. Juan Mata's exclusion from the squad has been questioned. But the most worrying concern is their form in their last qualifiying match.
Spain needed an 86th minute strike from Roberto Soldado to win against Georgia in a match where the score could have gone either way. No one overlooks the fact that despite winning the Euro Cup 2012, this team has had a hard time scoring at whim. They pass like chess masters, but when it comes to creating chances, they seem to lack the killer instinct. It never helps when the rest of the world has decided that parking all 11 players behind the ball and waiting for a counter to strike is the strategy to use against them. That strategy has seemed to be good, but has not been effective to this point as the champs have always found a way to win.
But the one factor that must be considered is age. Spain's 'golden' generation is starting to enter their 30s and it is likely that after the World Cup 2014, there will be a plethora of new faces representing La Furia Roja.
Andres Iniesta is back and so is David Villa. Coach Vicente del Bosque is banking on both of these guys being at top form, especially Villa, because Spain is in desperate need of a goal scorer. Without Gerard Pique or Carles Puyol, the back four are a bit worrisome but hopefully Raul Albiol fits right in with Sergio Ramos and Jordi Alba.
On the other side, Spain faces a Belarusian side that has lost both of its matches against Georgia and France. They are desperate for a win because another loss would force them to win the rest of the way to have any chance at the playoff spot.
Spain needs this one badly as another loss forces them to win against France on Tuesday. That game is equally pressing, but a loss or draw on Friday piles on a nightmare of pressure for Tuesday.
Prediction: Spain wins this one, but just barely. They continue to struggle to score and finish the game up 1-0.
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