Spain v Turkey World Cup Qualifier Preview

Sorry this is very last minute but I’ve been sick in bed for the past couple days and haven’t really been online other than to check my e-mail.

Anyways, here it is my fellow Spaniards and Spanish football lovers.

Our World Cup 2010 qualification record thus far has been flawless, four wins from four matches giving us a total of 12 points, 4 more than the second place Turks. We’re riding high on a 29 game unbeaten run dating all the way back to November 2006 when we lost 1-0 to Romania in a friendly.

Today Turkey pay a visit to the Santiago Bernabeú in Madrid to take on the European Champions and the current World Cup qualification group leaders. Despite our stunning form however, Turkey will be no pushover as they had a very solid Euro 2008 run eventually losing in the semi-finals to Germany.

That being said, Turkey have drawn with Estonia 0-0 and Belgium 1-1, both less than impressive results to be fair. To add insult to injury, the Turks will be without Shalke superstar Halil Altintop, Stuttgart’s Yildaray Basturk, and their star centre-back Servet Ceitn. Also out for this match are Selcuk Sahin of Fenerbahçe and Gokhan Zan of Basiktas.

Speaking of injuries, things are all good for our beloved España as David Villa, David Silva, Xavi, Sergio Ramos and Gerard Piqué have all been cleared to play after being in doubt earlier this week meaning we’ll have a near-full squad. We will be without Carles Puyol, Cesc Fàbregas and Andrés Iniesta though as all three are still recovering from recent injuries. Raúl Albiol will start in place of the injured Puyol and Santi Cazorla is in for Iniesta.

I know I said Turkey will be no pushovers but realistically I can’t see them getting any result on our home ground either. Euro 2008 may be long over but the squad is stronger than ever even despite the injuries to Iniesta who was a key figure in Austria and Switzerland.

With our deadly combination of Villa and Torres it’s hard not to score goals as they’re both on top form for club and country. Senna will probably slot in at his favoured defensive midfield position and we all know how solid he is there meaning Turkey will find it very hard to generate anything dangerous.

The only result I see is a Spanish victory, probably not high scoring, but at least two or three nil.

¡¡Qué Viva España!!