Spain vs France: The key battles

Most of us will see this encounter as one-sided. Mighty Spain, a team which haven’t lost a qualifier since 2007 against a France side which is visiting them on the back of a loss against Japan. “It will require hard work. We will be 11 warriors on the pitch,” said Karim Benzema in the run-up to the most high-profile match tonight. But Spain are virtually unbeatable. Their record against France isn’t that great, but the team has won the last three major international tournaments. If France want to beat them, then these are the key battles they need to win on the pitch. Iker Casillas vs Karim Benzema: Iker, the saint between the posts will come up against Real Madrid teammate Benzema and both will need to quickly rewind to what the other usually does in training. In all reality, Benzema should be able to beat Casillas in one-on-ones since he does it every week in training. As a striker, he should know the weak spots, he should know whether he must try and nutmeg him or just slam it near post. Casillas though, will also know what Benzema prefers doing… this should be a great battle for the neutral. [caption id=“attachment_492532” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Madrid teammates Benzema and Ramos will face each other. Reuters[/caption] Andres Iniesta vs Blaise Matuidi: Iniesta, feared as one of the most inventive attackers in the world will be up against a fairly inexperienced Matuidi. He will get his chance in the absence of the more robust and strong Lassana Diarra. In all fairness, Iniesta should run riot around the French defensive midfielder. Moussa Cissokho, the other midfielder in the French squad will need to be backtracking continuously to avoid embarrassment. Alvaro Arbeloa vs Franck Ribery: We see Ribery play on the left for France, like he does for Bayern Munich. Mathieu Valbuena will be deployed on the right. Ribery had got the better of Arbeloa when the two came against each other in the Champions League last season, so we can expect him to provide some spark for France. Jordi Alba vs Mathieu Valbuena: The centre-backs for Spain remain undecided, but Alba will certainly play left-back for the La Roja. But Valbuena will be no pushover. Both the diminutive players are equipped with raw pace and with Alba’s tendency to attack, Valbuena will have some chances to exploit the space. He already has six assists this season and if he does well, he can add to them. Xavi vs Yohan Cabaye: Cabaye has been brilliant for Newcastle since his move to England and will play a similar role for France like Xavi does for Spain. Both players will vie to dictate midfield, and even though Xavi will be a hands down winner, Cabaye is probably more lethal with a long shot. But the creative midfielder have too much on his plate while Xavi will be supported by Iniesta and the in-form Santi Cazorla or Xabi Alonso. Fernando Torres/David Villa/Cesc Fabregas vs Laurent Koscielny: Koscielny will be the main man in defence for France and while he may have an idea how to deal with Torres and Fabregas, he may find it hard to tackle David Villa. Since his return from a horrific injury, he has netted thrice in eight appearances. Koscielnly could well win the aerial battles, but he is stiff at times and Villa is just the right man to expose that tendency. There are 15 points to play for in the qualification group, but this is one match which will be taken very seriously. After all, a team like France or Spain wouldn’t want to be in a play-off situation for the World Cup. Laurent Blanc’s tactics at Euro 2012, where Spain won this encounter 2-0, were highly criticised. Didier Deschamps should ensure that he goes into the game positively and unleash the attacking talent he has at his disposal. That is his only chance of winning.