Spain’s reign in world soccer has come to a turbulent end at the World Cup in Brazil as they became the first defending champion to be eliminated with a game left in the group stage. We will see how much pride they have on Monday when they face an Australia team that has tried to overcome their deficit in talent with grit and a battling spirit.
World Cup Odds: Spain -235, Australia +615, Draw +385
Why Australia Can Win
Australia knew coming in that they were the underdogs in Group B, and they have played like a team with nothing to lose in losses to Chile and the Netherlands. Against the latter, they pushed their opponents to the wall and Tim Cahill gave us one of the goals of the tournament with his volley in the first half. However, when those two teams put the pedal down, the gulf in talent showed, especially against Holland. Still, it has been a memorable World Cup for a young Australia team that might be one to watch in four years in Russia.
The Aussies will go into this match with Cahill, who has scored twice in this tournament and his 34 goals are the most in the team’s history. He has probably played his final World Cup match at 34, and he is by far their best attacking option.
Why Spain Can Win
You would think this would be a walk in the park for Spain because of all the talent on their roster, and it is still there, they have just underperformed. This could be the final match for the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and captain Iker Casillas, who has been awful in goal for Spain and it shows that he didn’t have much first-team action with Real Madrid this season. Fernando Torres has been used as a sub for Diego Costa, but he could start. This is a prideful group who know they haven’t played well in this World Cup after winning the last one, along with two European Championships in a row, and they have to use that to inspire them on Monday.
That being said, many in this group didn’t play that well for their clubs during the season and some (notably Xavi) might be trying to engineer moves away while this tournament is going on, so the focus might not be there.
Outlook
This will be the first meeting for these two countries with nothing but pride on the line, and Spain is going to try and keep possession away, while Australia will pressure them all over the pitch and while it has been successful over the first two games, you have to wonder where a goal will come from if Cahill isn’t on the pitch. Spain has scored just one goal on a Xabi Alonso penalty against the Netherlands, and they still have a couple of players that can find the back of the net. Spain wins this game, but it’ll be an underwhelming win.
Pick: Spain
