RealGM

On Thursday evening, a battle between two nations will take place which nobody *really* expected. For a long time, both nations were notorious chokers. ESP last reached a WC or EC half finals in 1984, and Russia last did it in 1988 as Soviet Union. Here are...

SPAIN
QF win vs ITA 5-3 a.P.; W vs GRE 2-1, W vs SWE 2-1, W vs RUS 4-1


RUSSIA
QF win vs NED 3-1 a.ET; W vs SWE 2-0, W vs GRE 1-0, L vs ESP 1-4


KEY PLAYERS

Spain sure has some big guns up front. David Villa of Valencia CF is the current Euro 2008 top scorer, and Fernando Torres of Liverpool FC possibly the most dangerous deep striker in the world right now. As Villa is small and quick and Torres big and strong, this matchup poses problems for every defense.


Russia has potential superstar striker/winger Andrei Archavin from Zenith St. Petersburg. He is a superb dribbler who can play his man dizzy and finish with deadly accuracy. His partner up front is deep striker Roman Pavlyuchenko (Spartak Moscow), who is a tall and quick do-it-all striker.

X FACTORS

Marcos Senna from Villareal CF is the Spanish central defensive midfielder. The experienced Spanish-Brasilian will be vital in stopping the deadly Russian double pass machine. His Russian pendant is captain Sergei Semak from Rubin Kazan, a do-it-all who runs marathons on the pitch and is effective in offense and defense.

MISSING PLAYERS
IIRC, Spain will play at full strength. Russia misses the wing back Zhirkov, sharpshooting central defender Denis Kolodin and the 2-1 vs NED goal scorer Torbinski, all due to 2nd yellow cards.

QUESTION MARKS
Spain up to now has been very, very efficient. They are the only team with 4 wins in 4 games. Still, let's see how they react if they do NOT score the 1-0 goal. Russia plays lightning quick but is still prone to some strange individual errors in defense.

MISC INFO
These two nations already slugged it out in tbe 1st round. Spain drubbed Russia 4-1, but don't be fooled, Russia actually played quite well but mercilessly got out-countered... AND they missed Arshavin, their best player. Will be highly interesting to see how this rematch develops. A funny thing about the Russian team is the fact that for some Russians, the match will begin at 4 AM. That's the fate of the several million Russians living at the Japanese border!

CONCLUSION
This will be an interesting clash between two nations who have surprised and pleased the neutral fans in the Euro 2008. Spain are a bit favored after their 4-1 win, but not by much. Whoever wins will have to earn it.

isn't kolodin also suspended?

this is going to be a very good match.

i'll say it again, that 4-1 was a fluke, like hiddink stated that game was the russians day off. spain shouldn't take that game into consideration.

I dont think anything should be taken from that previous game. A spot in the Finals is at stake and everything will be different. Russia has had a nice run so far but Its about time Spain gets back to the final.

yep, first game shouldnt be an indicator for this one even though that game lot closer than scoreboard shows. Russia s exponential improvement game to game is quite remarkable. That being said they cant afford shaky play from their back 4 and need to dominate midfield possession as much as they can to avoid fast Spanish attacks.

Prediction: 2-2 in regulation, Spain wins in penalties.

This could be won and lost by Spain in the midfield. They need to play Fabregas.

BlackMamba wrote:isn't kolodin also suspended?

Yes he is, I added that.

The winner will be

http://i26.tinypic.com/34hf7l5.jpg

The fact that Russia has Asharvin for this game makes the matchup of 2 weeks ago completely irrelevant. I think Spain will squeeze through but no surprise if Russia does.

Profanity wrote:The winner will be

http://i26.tinypic.com/34hf7l5.jpg

There will definitely be no surprise if Russia makes it, But all eyes are on Spain making it to the Final.

hey anyone knows fabregas is in the starting eleven for spain?

Kayariel wrote:hey anyone knows fabregas is in the starting eleven for spain?

No Fabregas. Spain will play the same lineup they did against Italy

yeah, aragonés is to catious to play fabregas.

Absolute dominant performance by the Spaniards. LOOK OUT GERMANY!!!

3-0... and i thought that 1st game couldn't be repeated...

matchup nightmare for Russians, Spain s finishing as efficient as it gets.

i wonder if Villa will be ready for the final.

No Villa wont play in the final, Fabregas will start instead of him.
If we play like today theres no chance we can lose it this time.

blues_man5 wrote:

Profanity wrote:The winner will be

http://i26.tinypic.com/34hf7l5.jpg

There will definitely be no surprise if Russia makes it, But all eyes are on Spain making it to the Final.

I told you...

I really don't know why Cesc doesn't play full games. I also didn't uunderstand why Hiddink changed his tactics so much. Their all out attacking style seemed to fit them much better.

Weak azz Russians let themselves get pwned by strong Spaniards. The 2nd half was so hugely lopsided, and I was disappointed by the utter lack of hustle from the Russians. But well, it was fun while it lasted. Meanwhile, Spain is looking very very impressive.

PS Public viewing was a bit average today, the Russian majority was pretty silent and the Spaniards are not that numerous in Germany. But well, let's see how Sunday becomes!!