Group B: Finals Rematch

Group B: Spain, Netherlands, Chile, Australia

HOW THEY FINISH:
Spain 2-0-1 7 PTS (finishes first via goal differential)
Netherlands 2-0-1 7 PTS
Chile 0-2-1 1 PT
Australia 0-2-1 1 PT

 

A quick little reminder of what happened 4 years ago.

If you are expecting an exciting game tomorrow afternoon in a rematch of the 2010 Final, Spain vs Netherlands don't get your hopes up. A draw for these two teams is exactly what the doctor ordered, though one of them will have to play Brazil in the first stage of the knockout round, I expect both to go for big numbers against Chile and Australia, not against eachother. As for those two teams, neither can be to excited about landing here. I can't see Australia getting out of any group with the squad they have this go around, but Chile might have felt they could have done better in their home continent.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Alexis Sanchez (CHI) - The Barcelona man scores a goal every three games for Chile, but one goal in three games isn't going to be enough if they want to get out of this group.

Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Robin Van Persie (NET) - The trio of 30 year olds, have 259 caps and 92 goals amongst them.

Bruno Martins-Indi (NET) - In 2010 the Netherlands featured a strong veteran defense with a bunch of attackers in their prime. Now the attack is aging and the defense is very inexperienced. The 8 defenders on the squad average less than 12 caps. The 22 year old Martins Indi will be at the forefront of the
Oranje defense, but also large contributor to the "Total Football" style of attack.

Tim Cahill (AUS) - This may be the last hurrah for the Australians, a squad that in 2010 featured 9 players over 30 and the next generation just isn't there. Cahill, who has retired to the MLS since his work with Everton, will be the main scoring threat for the Socceroos, who might have to be happy with just being there.

I already used this with Brazil, but do you really need to know who to watch for Spain? They won the World Cup in 2010, they won the European championship in 2012, the roster features 23 players that played in the Champions League last season. For pure entertainment value watch Juan Mata try to play defense, a lot like Sasha Pavlovic "his offense is his defense." Unlike Sasha Pavlovic he's an incredible offensive talent.