Powerful Spain aim to breach defensive Switzerland

EUROPEAN champion Spain will be one of the last two teams in action in the opening flight of group matches, a position the perennial World Cup underachiever also hopes to be in at the end of South Africa 2010.

Spain takes on Switzerland in Durban today knowing that if it plays to its vast potential it can add the world title to its 2008 European Championship crown. But for Switzerland, the Group H match still comes too soon, with its experienced captain Alex Frei and West Ham midfielder Valon Behrami both out injured.
‘I have decided that Alex Frei is not yet fit to play,’ said coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, adding that he would also leave out Behrami in an attempt to have both players fit for the following match against Chile.
Frei, whose 40-goal international tally is a Swiss record, was hurt in the final squad practice before flying to South Africa last week.
And while Switzerland has injury worries, Spain’s talented squad is at near full strength, with Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta declared fit by Del Bosque. Spain has not advanced past the World Cup quarterfinals since it’s best finish – fourth – in 1950. Liverpool striker Fernando Torres is recovering from a right leg injury and may not start.
Spanish players say they are expecting a tough game against a defensive Switzerland.
‘They’ve done well in the last few tournaments against potent teams and they have well-known players,’ Cesc Fabregas said.
‘You don’t need to watch a lot of video to know they’re going to make things difficult.’
Fabregas, the Arsenal midfielder who has recovered from a broken right leg that had threatened his World Cup participation, said Spain is playing down its favourite’s tag.
‘We’re a regular team, like all, and we need to go little-by-little,’ he said. ‘When we won the Euro nobody was talking about us.
You have to be humble, work little-by-little, and only concentrate on the first game and we’ll see what happens.’
The main focus ahead of the World Cup match between Chile and Honduras has been on injuries to the two opposing strikers named Suazo.
Chile’s Humberto Suazo was top scorer in the South American qualifiers with 10 goals but injured his right thigh two weeks ago.
The initial prognosis was that the Zaragoza striker would be sidelined for three weeks, but his recovery has been quicker than expected and coach Marcelo Bielsa said he would be available for Wednesday’s opener.
For Honduras, Genoa forward David Suazo also has a right thigh injury but, unlike his namesake, seems unlikely to have shaken off the problem in time.
With Switzerland next up on June 21 and Spain to follow on June 25, Chile needs a positive result from the Honduras match to stand a realistic chance of progression.
In it’s first World Cup appearance since 1998, Chile will be hoping to end a run of 48 years since they last tasted victory in the World Cup as soon as possible.
Honduras, on the other hand, has never won a World Cup match.
The only other Honduras qualified for the finals was in 1982 when it held Spain and Northern Ireland to draws but lost to Yugoslavia to finish bottom of the group. – Nampa-AP-AFP