With coach Marcelo Bielsa stating that he will not playing for a tie against Spain, you would guess that most of Spain’s players must be happy with that notion. Even Xavi made his feelings known as he went on to state that he was relieved that Chile will be playing for the win instead of packing the defense in which will make his job that much harder.
Spain right now are currently tied with Switzerland having lost one game and then wining the next and with a win against Chile, this could guarantee their spot to reach the next round of the cup. However, with Switzerland playing Honduras who are in the bottom of Group H, Switzerland will definitely be looking to take advantage of this and score as many as goals as possibly because this group might be decided by goal differentials.
According to Xavi, with Chile playing for the win, it will be good for Spain as he went on to say the following about his up-coming opponents :
“This is good for Spain, we prefer to face a team that wants to win and this is what’s been happening for the last few years with Bielsa. We’re very happy to see they are going to attack, I think it’s going to be a great game. We`re going to give it everything we`ve got and the plan is to get as far as possible in the World Cup. There is going to be a lot of pressure, the only thing that we’re looking for is the victory. We have to play the way we normally play, circulate the ball and show our character on the pitch.”
However, will Chile playing an attacking game really benefit Spain like Xavi is thinking?
Even if Spain creates more chances in this match, they still need to be able to finish these chances which has been their problem all World Cup. If Spain attack in numbers, they still risk being counter-attacked as well which is what most teams play.
So what will happen? Guess we will find out in a few hours when both teams take the pitch.
