*Official* Paraguay vs Spain (Quarter-Final Four)

[Magrat Garlick]

Kick-off Saturday 3 July, 20.30 (local, 18.30 UTC) at Ellis Park, Johannesburg (weather: fair, 14 degrees)
Referee: Carlos Batres (Guatemala)

 

[Furball]

Just a reminder to Mork that June has 30 days, so have edited the dates accordingly.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Less than an hour to kick-off so time to whip yourselves up into a frenzy for the remaining quarter-final.

Paraguay
01 Villar
02 Veron
03 Morel
14 Da Silva
21 Alcaraz
08 Barreto
11 Santana
15 V Caceres
16 Riveros
07 Cardozo
18 Valdez

Spain
01 Casillas
03 Pique
05 Puyol
11 Capdevila
15 Sergio Ramos
06 Iniesta
08 Xavi
14 Alonso
16 Busquets
07 Villa
09 Torres

 

[vcs]

Drop Busquets, play Fabregas instead and play a winger instead of Torres. They can always bring him off the bench if they are desperate for a goal. This formation doesn't really get the best out of Spain but the quality of the players is papering over the cracks.

 

[Pothas]

Come on Spain

 

[BoyBrumby]

If Spain don't beat this shower of plop they don't deserve to be world champions.

Although (thank you BBC) in their last 3 QFs they've lost to Belgium, Italy & South Korea, so who knows?

 

[R_D]

I hope Spain play Fabregas today.... Go Spain....

 

[Furball]

Drop Busquets, play Fabregas instead and play a winger instead of Torres. They can always bring him off the bench if they are desperate for a goal. This formation doesn't really get the best out of Spain but the quality of the players is papering over the cracks.

If anyone should be dropped it's Xabi Alonso. Del Bosque isn't getting the best out of Xavi - Fabregas is much more suited to the role that he wants Xavi to play.

 

[Pothas]

Mark Bright is painfully anoying.

 

[Jarquis]

Couple of good crosses at both ends.

 

[silentstriker]

Ref disallows another goal. Goals are rare enough as it is without the refs making it even worse...

 

[BoyBrumby]

Been a fecking dire game so far.

 

[Pothas]

All the dire games feature Mark Bright, coincidence I think not.

 

[vcs]

Spain very lucky not to be a goal down here. I was expecting them to take this one comfortably and give Germany a different sort of problem to deal with in the semis but I'm not at all sure of that anymore.

 

[Jarquis]

Get Cesc on ffs.

 

[vcs]

If anyone should be dropped it's Xabi Alonso. Del Bosque isn't getting the best out of Xavi - Fabregas is much more suited to the role that he wants Xavi to play.

No, I think the CL tie between Arsenal-Barca proved pretty conclusively that Fabregas has some way to go to match Xavi in dictating the midfield. He plays in a withdrawn forward role for Spain, which suits him best in that team. Busquets seems the odd one out in that midfield. I don't know why he is being shoe-horned in when Xavi and Xabi Alonso are already there to do that job.

 

[vcs]

Ah, I see I misread your post and we are pretty much suggesting the same thing - Xavi further back in midfield, Fabregas playing the link-up role between midfleld and the strikers. You prefer Alonso to be dropped, I'd rather Busquets was benched.

 

[Furball]

Ah, I see I misread your post and we are pretty much suggesting the same thing - Xavi further back in midfield, Fabregas playing the link-up role between midfleld and the strikers. You prefer Alonso to be dropped, I'd rather Busquets was benched.

The way I see it, Xabi Alonso is an inferior version of Xavi, I think the midfield balances better with Busquets playing the role where he breaks up opposition attacks and recycles possession to the likes of Iniesta, Cesc and Xavi.

 

[Jarquis]

Cesc

Torres has been ****ing awful.

 

[Jarquis]

Oh dear, oh dear.
Definitely bundled him over on first look.

Yep, fully holding his arm. Pretty much using it as a tug-of-war rope.

Haha. Called it on msn. Casillas WAG. Even if he was rushed out with his feet about 984 times this tournament.