Group H: Must-win for Spain against Chile

Johannesburg, Jun 25: Even though Group G has been dubbed the Group of Death for being the tougest group, Group H has by far been the most exciting one. In one such exciting tie-up Spain and Chile are set to clash on Friday, Jun 25.

Spain will be facing, what is being seen as its toughest challenge so far, in Chile. Spain had disappointed early in the 19th FIFA World Cup 2010 by succumbing to a deafeat against Switzerland in its opener. The team redeemed themselves in the second match against Honduras, thanks to the power-packed performance from David Villa, who netted two goals.

Chile has won both the matches against Honduras and Switerland to pocket six points for itself. It currently sits pretty on the top of the Group. Spain and Switzerland have three points each.

Fixture by Date - Fixture by Group - Teams & Groups - Points

While Chile would aim at finishing off the group stage on the top of the group by clinching a win or a draw, Spain knows that if it does not secure a win it will also meet the fate of teams like France and Italy and get ousted.

If Switzerland manages to secure a win against Honduras and earn three points, then the contest between Spain and Switzerland will come down to the number of goals scored.

To avoid any such gaps through which Swiss can slip in, Spain has to clinch a victory. Therefore, the match between Spain and Chile becomes crucial for the outcome of who qualifies from Group H.

Chile's strength will be its versatile and flexible 5-2-3 formation which, as seen in matches till now, can be used to suit the requirements to upset the rival team. Spain, on the other hand, has shown great ball control. However, star players like Torres have underperformed dampening the earlier campaigns.

Players to Watch:

Spain: Fernando Torres, David Villa
Chile: Alexis Sanchez, Mark Gonzalez


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