Spain Determined to Seal Turkey
Sabtu, 18 Juni 2016 - 00:13 WIB
Spain Determined to Seal Turkey
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NICE - Spain will be looking to build on their opening round victory over the Czech Republic and potentially seal progression from Group C when they take on Turkey in Nice on Friday while longer.
Despite dominating proceedings for much of the match, the reigning champions struggled to find a way past a stubborn Czech defence before Gerard Pique powered in a header past Petr Cech from close-range to gift La Roja a narrow victory.
The opposite can be said of Turkey who could potentially be on the verge of a premature exit from the tournament should they suffer yet another defeat following a disappointing performance against group leaders Croatia.
Key to the outcome of the match will be captain Arda Turan, who was largely off the pace in their previous fixture and is clearly suffering from a lack of playing time at Barcelona. Further compounding their woes is Spain's solid defensive set up, who have not conceded a single goal in their last 510 minutes in this competition.
Nevertheless, coach Fatih Terim will be hoping that the man who helped the Turks reach the semi-final back in 2008 can once again revitalise a side in desperate need of morale in what is a must win match.
Injuries and Suspensions
Vicente Del Bosque is expected to deploy the same starting XI which beat the Czech Republic on Monday. Under fire goalkeeper David de Gea is expected to retain his spot as first-choice custodian over Iker Casillas after making crucial saves in their previous fixtures.
In addition, Alvaro Morata is also expected to lead the line against Terim's men despite failing to leave a mark in their win over the Czechs.
Meanwhile, Turkey will also head into the match with a largely unchanged line-up. However, Hakan Balta, Cenk Tosun and Volkan Sen are all one booking away from suspension.
History
If history is anything to go by, Spain undoubtedly head into the fixture as overwhelming favourites. The sides have previously met 10 times with La Roja claiming victory in half of those matches, Turkey wining just the one while both sides were forced to share the spoils on four occasions.
Furthermore, the last time both sides met came in 2009 during qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. Not only did Del Bosque's troops emerge victorious on both occasions (1-0 and 2-1 wins respectively), the Spaniards went on to top Group 5 before claiming the title in South Africa.
Nevertheless, one could reasonably expect that the clash at Nice will be a low-scoring affair - only on four occasions have three or more goals been scored in the 10 previous meetings between the pair.
Player to Watch: Andres Iniesta
The 32 year old maestro rolled back the years and chipped in with a performance for the ages in Spain's opener last Sunday.
Indeed, the Barcelona playmaker's quality was all on show in Toulouse as he controlled the pace of the match in class, linked up brilliantly with his teammates (creating five chances in total), drifted past defenders with ease before setting up Pique with the all-important winner.
Given his supreme form, expect Iniesta to make the most of Turkey's lack of form as the Spaniards will once again attempt to dominate proceedings with the midfielder at the helm of the side's offensive assault.
Probable Line-Ups
Spain : De Gea; Juanfran, Pique, Ramos, Alba; Busquets, Silva, Fabregas, Iniesta, Nolito, Morata
Turkey: Babacan; Gönül, Topal, Balta, Erkin, nan, en, Çalhanolu, Özyakup, Turan, Ylmaz
Despite dominating proceedings for much of the match, the reigning champions struggled to find a way past a stubborn Czech defence before Gerard Pique powered in a header past Petr Cech from close-range to gift La Roja a narrow victory.
The opposite can be said of Turkey who could potentially be on the verge of a premature exit from the tournament should they suffer yet another defeat following a disappointing performance against group leaders Croatia.
Key to the outcome of the match will be captain Arda Turan, who was largely off the pace in their previous fixture and is clearly suffering from a lack of playing time at Barcelona. Further compounding their woes is Spain's solid defensive set up, who have not conceded a single goal in their last 510 minutes in this competition.
Nevertheless, coach Fatih Terim will be hoping that the man who helped the Turks reach the semi-final back in 2008 can once again revitalise a side in desperate need of morale in what is a must win match.
Injuries and Suspensions
Vicente Del Bosque is expected to deploy the same starting XI which beat the Czech Republic on Monday. Under fire goalkeeper David de Gea is expected to retain his spot as first-choice custodian over Iker Casillas after making crucial saves in their previous fixtures.
In addition, Alvaro Morata is also expected to lead the line against Terim's men despite failing to leave a mark in their win over the Czechs.
Meanwhile, Turkey will also head into the match with a largely unchanged line-up. However, Hakan Balta, Cenk Tosun and Volkan Sen are all one booking away from suspension.
History
If history is anything to go by, Spain undoubtedly head into the fixture as overwhelming favourites. The sides have previously met 10 times with La Roja claiming victory in half of those matches, Turkey wining just the one while both sides were forced to share the spoils on four occasions.
Furthermore, the last time both sides met came in 2009 during qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. Not only did Del Bosque's troops emerge victorious on both occasions (1-0 and 2-1 wins respectively), the Spaniards went on to top Group 5 before claiming the title in South Africa.
Nevertheless, one could reasonably expect that the clash at Nice will be a low-scoring affair - only on four occasions have three or more goals been scored in the 10 previous meetings between the pair.
Player to Watch: Andres Iniesta
The 32 year old maestro rolled back the years and chipped in with a performance for the ages in Spain's opener last Sunday.
Indeed, the Barcelona playmaker's quality was all on show in Toulouse as he controlled the pace of the match in class, linked up brilliantly with his teammates (creating five chances in total), drifted past defenders with ease before setting up Pique with the all-important winner.
Given his supreme form, expect Iniesta to make the most of Turkey's lack of form as the Spaniards will once again attempt to dominate proceedings with the midfielder at the helm of the side's offensive assault.
Probable Line-Ups
Spain : De Gea; Juanfran, Pique, Ramos, Alba; Busquets, Silva, Fabregas, Iniesta, Nolito, Morata
Turkey: Babacan; Gönül, Topal, Balta, Erkin, nan, en, Çalhanolu, Özyakup, Turan, Ylmaz
(rnz)
