10th June 08 – Grp D: Spain vs Russia
Spain – Perpetual underachiever in a major competition, could they turn the fortune this time round. This had led coach Luis Aragones to study the stars or the Kabbalah, an ancient tradition of explaining Judaism’s holy texts through mystical means. He believes that yellow is unlucky, despite the fact that it makes up half the Spanish flag. He has banned all his players from wearing yellow. Coming into the tournament, they are undefeated in 16 matches. In the last 18 matches, they have beaten world champions Italy, Argentina, France and England. Majority of their first-choice XI had Champions league experience.
Russia - Qualified at the expense of England. Coach Guus Hiddink have transformed the team into one of the dark horse of the tournament. 22-year-old goalkeeper, Igor Akinfeev, of CSKA Moscow, is a star in the making and is said to be in the same class as Peter Cech of Czech Rep. The back three also play for CSKA Moscow. Knowing each other well give them significant strength in defense.
Prediction – Expect coach Luis Aragones to turn the fortune for Spain around this time round with a low score line. Score: Spain 1-0 Russia.
Market odds: Spain (-3/4, +0.925), Russia (+1.0)
