Spain have their backs up against the wall and cannot afford to drop any points against Chile. A win should see Spain qualify for the round of 16, while a draw may be enough if Switzerland do not beat Honduras. If the Spaniards lose then they will be relying on a win by Honduras.


Chile - Spain.

 The Chileans so far have left a good impression on the tournament with their automated style of play and hope to advance into the knock-out stages of the tournament to prove that they have the ability as a team to achieve greater things. They recorded their second victory of the tournament with a 1-0 win over Switzerland but were assisted greatly by the expulsion of Behrami in the 30th minute, as up until that point they had an ineffective control of possession and didn’t look capable of breaking down the Swiss fortress defence. The winning goal came from a change by Bielsa who brought Gonzalez on and he duly scored with his head in the 75th minute. Today they will be denied the services of regular midfielder Fernandez and regular defensive midfielder Carmona.

Probable Line-up (4-2-1-3): Bravo, Isla, Medel, Ponce, Jara, Estrada, Vidal, Valdivia, Beausejour, Gonzalez, Sanchez.

 It’s do or die time for the Spaniards today as under no circumstances do they want an early exit from the World Cup. In their previous clash against Honduras they managed a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Villa, who also squandered a penalty to register a hat-rick and increase their margin of victory. Ahead of today’s game against Chile they welcome back Iniesta into the starting line-up, while Sergio Ramos is doubtful given he is struggling with a slight knock.

Probable Line-up (4-3-3): Casillas, Ramos or Arbeloa, Pique, Puyol, Capdevila, Busquets, Xavi, Alonso, Iniesta, Villa, Torres.

Selection: Chile will come under pressure for the first time today and it remains to be seen how they will cope. The tempo of the game should be a quick one and scoring chances should be created. I am going to select a total of 2-3 goals.