European champions, ranked first in the FIFA rankings, amongst the favourites for the 2010 World Cup, Spain are the one side nobody wanted to draw in the Euro qualifiers. Now that Scotland have been pitted against the Iberian goal machine, Craig Levein will have to find a way to stop some of the best players in the world game from weaving their magical patterns on the turf of Hampden.
Current holders of the Henri Delaunay Trophy, thanks to a Fernando Torres goal in the 1-0 win over Germany in the finals two years ago, Spain have been in fine form for a few years now. A 2-0 defeat to USA in the Confederations Cup last summer is the only recent sign of weakness in a side that has otherwise swept all before them.
The Spanish record in the recent World Cup qualifiers makes for fearsome reading. Played ten, won ten with 28 goals scored along the way and only five conceded. Any point Scotland take from Spain in this campaign will raise eyebrows across Europe.
While manager Vicente del Bosque and predecessor Luis Aragones deserve praise for getting the most from a national team that was previously a byword for underachievement, Spain simply have better players than most teams they face. Torres, Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas and Villa would all be serious contenders to be picked in a World XI and Scotland’s players will already be plotting how to get their hands on their favourite’s shirt at the end of the first match.
Unlike many teams that go through such a purple patch, Spain are not an ageing squad and have strength in depth too. The aforementioned players are all approaching their peak and there is still more to come. Barcelona’s Pedro and Busquets should come through in the next two years, as could Sevilla’s Diego Capel and Valencia’s Aaron Niguez, once of Rangers.
Scotland have, of course, managed to pull off unlikely results before and the home and away wins to France spring readily to mind. Spain are, at present, a level above everyone else and their record proves it.
Del Bosque’s side have scored five or more goals in five of their last 13 internationals. In international football that is a phenomenal statistic. To look at it another way, the five Spain scored in Bosnia in their last qualifier was only one less than Scotland netted in the entire campaign.
It is not without hope, Scotland have been competitive against sides ranked higher than us at Hampden in recent years. However, the smart money says that the minute Spain were drawn out of the hat to play in Group I everyone else was fighting for second place.
