FCBARCELONA.CAT

16.06.2010 10:56

Barca players shape Spanish team

Spain begin their World Cup campaign this afternoon when they take on Switzerland (16.00) with five or six Barca players likely starters. Tuesday’s games saw Toure Yaya’s Ivory Coast draw 0-0 with Portugal and Alves play the last 20 minutes.

Andres Iniesta seems to have fully recovered from the muscle injury he suffered in Spain’s last friendly before the Tournament against Poland, but Del Bosque might decide to rest him, whilst Pique, Puyol, Xavi, Busquets and Villa should make up the Barca contingent from the start, with Pedro likely to figure off the bench.

Favourites

Spain, whose boss Vicente del Bosque favours a style of play based very much on the Barca players, are one of the big favourites for the Tournament, having taken the European Championships two years ago and lost just one of their last 48 games. Puyol and Pique provide a solid defensive platform, with Busquets likely to sit just in front whilst Xavi pulls the strings and looks for Villa and, if he plays, Iniesta in the forward positions. Apart from Iniesta, Fernando Torres is also a doubt as he’s coming back from a knee injury and the depth of Del Bosque’s squad is clear when you consider he may have Torres, Iniesta, Fabregas and Pedro all sat on the bench!

Valuable point for Ivory Coast

Toure Yaya featured for the full 90 minutes in Ivory Coast’s goalless draw with Portugal on Tuesday - on balance a good result for Sven Goran Eriksson’s team, who also have Brazil and North Korea in their group. The game itself was a disappointingly drab affair with few chances for either side and the Ivory Coast manager’s decision to keep injured striker Didier Drogba on the bench for most of the game didn’t help. Toure Yaya hit a fine long range effort that went just wide and Ronaldo hit the woodwork for Portugal, but shots were few and far between as both teams seemed more interested in avoiding defeat than going for a win.