Russia Spain Preview: The bull locks horns with the bear again

Hello again to all. I just wanted to share my preview prior to the Russia Spain semi-final.

As you all know Spain and Russia met in the opening game to group D which was a 4-1 result in favour of Spain. It was clear that the major problem that Russia experienced was bad defending in dealing with the counterattacks. Since then we have seen Russia improve by dumping out Greece, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

In terms of defence, I think Hiddink should go with Ignashevich, Anyukov, and the Berezustki twins. Since Zhirkov is acoustomed to playing in the back line, I think he can play in the midfield and drop back when needed to create a solid five man defence. This way he can play a dual role by contributing to the attack and the defence.

The midfield can remain unchanged from the Sweden and Netherlands games with Semshov, Bilyaletdinov, and Semak playing in their usual positions.

Up front I think Pavlyuchenko and Arshavin can provide for a menacing striking partnership which clearly brought down the Swedes and Dutch. Other possibilities include Saenko, Sychev, and Adamov to keep the attack fresh in case Pavlyuchenko gets fatigued.

Overall I think that the Russian team look much better this time, especially with the return of Andrei Arshavin. His return evidently gave the Russian squad a boost in the midfield and attack.

As for Spain, I think they play really and have good chances to reach the final. I think that Villa and Torres will by watched by the Russian defence closely anw will not be given as much space this time. I do have to say that I was impressed in Ruben de la Red’s performance against Greece.

I’ve shared my thoughts prior to the match and I look forward to reading your comments.

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