25 June, 2010

World Cup: Cesc Fabregas Picks USA to Go Far; Group H Nailbiter

Spanish striker Cesc Fabregas, who plays for Arsenal in the EPL, is writing for The Sun while he's in South Africa.  He picked the USA to go all the way to the Semis and also thinks that England will improve their game.
Spain has their own worries.  They need a win today to secure their passing to the next round, and they have to put up enough goals to ensure that Switzerland (who beat the Spanish in their first match) do not advance instead.
Spain plays Chile, who are top of the group right now with 6 points after two wins.  Spain are in second with 3, but only by one goal over the Suisse who have 3 points as well.
The group is still wide open...here are some scenarios:

If Chile beats Spain, they will go through.  If they draw with Spain, they would go through, but possibly not win the group.

If Spain beats Chile, they could top the group provided they score enough goals and not allow Chile to score any.  They could beat Chile and still not top the group if Switzerland put up a big goal tally.  If they draw with Chile, Switzerland would go past them with a win.

If Switzerland beats Honduras and Spain beats Chile, Switzerland could go through, but only if they improved their goal differential.  A 1-0 match would not help them if the Spain and Chile match was high scoring, as their goals scored would top that of the Suisse.  If Chile beats Spain, then Switzerland would only need to draw against Honduras to be second in the group.

Honduras, although they have 0 points, is still not out of it.  If Spain loses to Chile, and Honduras beats Switzerland, they could go through based on goals, but they would have to score enough to pass the goal differential or Goals Scored of the Suisse and Spaniards.

In short:

Chile only needs to draw to go through.

Spain, Switzerland, and Honduras need to win and win big to ensure their advancement. 

This group will go down to the wire today.  All of the teams will be attacking from the first whistle.  Expect physical matches. 

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