Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/331448
23 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 18 JUNE 2014 Spain must win against Chile to stay in World Cup Spain need to win against Chile on Wednesday for a chance to remain in the World Cup after the defending champions lost 5-1 to The Netherlands in their opening Group B game "CHILE is like a final for us," cap- tain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas said at the weekend, highlighting the pressure facing the team after the humiliating defeat. "A draw is too little." Spain manager Vincente del Bosque was defiant after the defeat, saying that his players still have a good opportunity to do well in Bra- zil. Spain are in danger of becoming the first reigning champions to get bounced from the group stage since France in 2002 - without a goal and just one point. Chile, who won their first game by beating Australia 3-1, have no illu- sion about the challenge they face against a team that includes top players like Andres Iniesta, Xabi Alonso and Cesc Fabregas. "We need a complete game against dangerous opponents like these," Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli said. A victory against Spain will all but secure Chile a place in the second round. "I believe that Chile can win the World Cup," forward Alexis Sanchez said this week. "If I did not believe this, I would have stayed home and watched television," added the Bar- celona player. The Netherlands, which have never won the World Cup and have a history of startling starts followed by dramatic defeats at later stages of international tournaments, will face Australia in the first match of the day. A win would move the Dutch to six points and almost certainly seal them a spot in the last 16. "Whether this 5-1 victory is his- toric or not depends on what hap- pens later in the tournament," said Dutch striker Arjen Robben, who scored two goals against Spain. "We won 3-0 against world cham- pions Italy and 4-1 against France and later collapsed against Russia," added the Bayern Munich player, referring to Netherlands' defeat in the quarter-final of the Euro 2008 tournament. The final match of the day is in Group A, where Cameroon will play Croatia. Both teams will be looking to pick up their first win of the 2014 World Cup. Croatia dropped the opener to hosts Brazil 3-1 while Cameroon lost their first game 1-0 to Mexico. Spain midfi elder Xavi Hernandez rides a bike during a training session. Spain will face Chile on Wednesday. EPA/JUANJO MARTIN Menotti thinks Spain will reach round of 16 CESAR Luis Menotti, Argentina's World Cup-winning coach in 1978, believes Spain will recover from their 5-1 debacle against the Netherlands and qualify for the round of 16. "I think Spain will qualify. It will be very difficult for Chile (Wednesday against Spain), Menotti told German press agency dpa in Buenos Aires. "Football can be very cruel some- times. I don't think the 5-1 result really ref lected the 90 minutes of play. Spain played well in the first half against difficult opponents. "It could have been 2-0 at half- time," said the former coach of Bar- celona and Atletico Madrid. "But then the magic of (Robin) Van Persie took over, together with the mistakes of (Iker) Casillas, and the match changed." Menotti was quick to defend Casillas, saying: "When a goal- keeper makes a mistake the net is immediately bulging, but when a midfielder or a forward commits an error very rarely does a goal re- sult. "Casillas was crucial at the last World Cup (which Spain won)... The media are being very cruel to him, and very cruel to Spain. It's true that the result is alarming but these things happen in football. "It will be hard for them to reach the round of 16. But if they make it they will be difficult rivals, not easy for anyone to face." Cesar Luis Menotti. Photo by EPA/ULISES RUIZ Iker Casillas: From 2010 hero to symbol of unrecognizable A magical reflex from Iker Casillas paved the way to Spain's first World Cup title in South Africa 2010, and four years later he became the tragic poster boy for an unrecognizable team, in Friday's 5-1 thrashing by the Netherlands. "It is time to keep quiet, reflect and think about the next match, against Chile, as a final," said Casillas. "I am the first to apologize to our fans. We have to accept any criticism that comes our way and forget about what happened as soon as possible." The defending world champions not only lost in Salvador to precisely the same rival they beat in the final in South Africa 2010, but they actu- ally lost 5-1, the second worst result in their World Cup history after a 6-1 defeat to Brazil in 1950. Casillas made serious mistakes in the third and fourth Dutch goals, but he was hardly the only one to blame in a painful defeat that is bound to have unpredictable consequences. The Spain captain and keeper played a key role in his team's 2010 World Cup-winning campaign. In the quarter-finals, he saved a penalty shot from Oscar Cardozo which could have meant Spain's elimination, and in the final he stretched his foot to deflect Arjen Robben's shot in a one-on-one with less than half an hour to go for the final whistle. Those were the days in which the Spain goal was unassailable. From the round of 16 to the final, the side coached by Vicente del Bosque scored only one goal per game, but that was all they needed: they were solid in de- fence, based on their ability to hold onto the ball. That Spanish wall was shattered in Salvador by a Dutch hurricane, with two goals from Robin van Persie, two from Robben and one from Stefan de Vrij. Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique hardly helped Casillas. The centre- back pair, in theory one of the best in the world, was unrecognizable, as was indeed the whole team, incapable as Spain were of holding on to the ball. They even came close to conceding another goal or two. Casillas's face after the fifth goal said it all. Earlier, a poor save from the keeper when faced with an aerial ball had led to the third goal, while a mis- take from Casillas with his feet served Van Persie the fourth on a platter. "I have not been up to scratch, and I take responsibility for that. We have not been fortunate, starting with me," he said. "Now we can only think about the next game." A world champion and a double Eu- ropean champion, the winner of five editions of La Liga and three Cham- pions Leagues, the 33-year-old keeper, a living legend in Spain, probably had one of the worst days in his life on Fri- day. Spain lost the Confederations Cup final 3-0 to Brazil last year in Rio de Janeiro. At the time, exhaustion at the end of a long season and a physically tough tournament served as excuses. On Friday, the thrashing in their first World Cup match was more painful. Vicente del Bosque's men also lost their first match in South Africa 2010, but their 1-0 defeat to Switzerland almost felt undeserved, as Spain ap- peared to control the game. Now Casillas and his team will need to restore their identity if they want to defend their title in Brazil, a coun- try that is by now a symbol of Spain's worst football defeats. Iker Casillas. Photo by EPA/ GUILLAUME HORCAJUELO