Spain vs. Ukraine, the preview
Today is the day. Spain-Ukraine in Leipzig. Don’t miss it. Or do. Because both these teams will advance anyways.
The line-up:
GK: Iker Casillas
DL: Mariano Pernia; DC: Pablo Ibanez; DC: Carles Puyol; DR: Sergio Ramos
MC: Xavi; MC: Xabi Alonso; MC: Marcos Senna
FW: Luis Garcia; FW: David Villa; FW: Fernando Torres
I don’t think this line-up scares any superpowers, but it’s almost the best 4-3-3 formation available (just swap Reyes for Garcia).
On the bench: Raul. You have to expect he’ll make an appearance unless Spain puts on a goal-scoring clinic.
The bad guys: Ukraine’s Andriy Shevchenko is one of the top strikers in the world, he has a hot American model wife and he’s ready to make millions playing for Chelsea in London. That’s a lot going for him. Aside from him, I can’t tell you much about Ukraine. I do know that Anatoliy Tymoschuk was a great signing for me in my latest Football Manager season, so maybe he’ll do well. If you want to read about Ukraine, you’re better off clicking here.
Players to watch: Mariano Pernia, left back for Spain. He gets involved in the attack and he scores goals. Some consider him Spain’s secret weapon. If he scores, I’m officially starting the Mariano Pernia fan club. Dmytro Chigrynskiy, defender for Ukraine. Honestly, I just like the name Dmytro. Sounds like an X-men character. 
Prediction: Spain 1, Ukraine 1. Yeah, I know. Not what you want to see. The result will lead many to immediately write off Spain as contenders. I then expect the Spaniards to bounce back with goals galore wins over Saudi Arabia and Tunisia, feeding them confidence heading into the round of 16 where they’ll go on to the quarterfinals. At that point, anything can happen. Within reason.
Who to blame if Spain loses: Switzerland referee Massimo Busacca, as well as assistant referees Francesco Buragina and Matthias Arnet.
Previews: World Cup Blog, Marca, Reuters.
Live blog: Check it out on the main page.
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Worldcupfanatic
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Roland
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http://www.myspace.com/caloy Carlos
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Welsh
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http://ukraine.worldcupblog.org Andriy
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Roland
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dila
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rad|x
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dre145
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ash
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Welsh
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DeKaY
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http://australia.worldcupblog.org Matt
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BrendanLee
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http://www.glenny.com expert
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TheImmortalOne
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http://www.worldcupblog.org/world-cup-2006/liveblog-spain-ukraine.html LiveBlog: Spain-Ukraine – FIFA World Cup 2006 – World Cup 2006 Blog
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http://www.pierretristam.com Total Football
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http://www.pierretristam.com Total Football
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http://www.pierretristam.com Total Football
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http://www.pierretristam.com Total Football
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http://www.pierretristam.com Total Football
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http://www.pierretristam.com Total Football
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TheImmortalOne
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Lameas
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ESPANA!!
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Roland
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http://www.myspace.com/caloy Carlos
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XX

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