Spanish Perfection

Perfect. Is there any other way to describe a Spain side who have taken the world by storm? Six wins out of six have taken Spain to the brink of qualification for the 2010 World Cup, and let’s be honest, that’s exactly what you would expect from Vicente del Bosque’s side.

Spain are ranked as the best international team in the world, and so far, no-one has managed to touch a side who are enjoying a 31 game undefeated streak which is stretching back 3 years! Opening their qualification campaign was always going to be an arduous task for the Spanish side with the levels of expectation having sky-rocketed after their recent successes in the European Championships. However, a Spanish side full of household names stuck to their task well, as David Villa continued his fabulous form for his country by giving Spain a 1-0 lead against Bosnia-Herzegovina, and that Villa strike proved to be crucial as Spain held out to gain those first three crucial points.

Four days later, Spain welcomed an Armenia side who had been earmarked as the ‘whipping-boys’ in the group, and they lived up to their name as Spain ran away 4-0 victors. The game will be remembered as the day that Bojan Krkic made his debut for the national side. Spain were always in control and Capdevila put them ahead inside the opening ten minutes, setting Spain on their way. A David Villa brace was added to by Marcos Senna who grabbed an uncharacteristic goal, and Spain marched on. Top of the group, and on their way.

Spain had to wait for their next game, but when it came to the away game in Estonia, the side continued from where they had left of against Armenia. This time, Spain walked away with a 3-0 victory, where the first goal was crucial in allowing them to assert their dominance over the Estonians. Juanito was the scorer of the crucial first goal, and then David Villa continued his irresistible form for both club and country by doubling the advantage from the penalty spot. Carlos Puyol, the defender who is finding it increasingly difficult to get a game for his club side Barcelona, got the third goal with 20-odd minutes left in the game and Spain rode to victory…again.

It was a similar story on October 15^th, when Spain, who lost Fernando Torres early on to a leg muscle injury, had to fight hard for a victory over Belgium, in Belgium. Andres Iniesta scored an equaliser to an early Belgium goal before David Villa once again scored, in the 88^th minute, to seal a dramatic win.

We move to March, when Turkey were brushed aside in the Bernabeu as a Gerard Pique goal led Spain to a victory that gave them a 5 point lead at the top of the group. In their sixth group game, and possibly the hardest to date, Spain travelled to Turkey and gained a tremendous 2-1 victory. Tuncay, the Middelsbrough player, had given Turkey the lead before Xabi Alonso equalised from the spot, and then it was the turn of Daniel Guiza to become supersub as he laid the ball on a plate for teammate Albert Riera to fire home to seal a sixth straight victory for the side.

Well, what can I say? It has been an absolutely fantastic start for Spain who have played tremendous football and they deserve to be 6 points clear of Bosnia-Herzegovina at the top of the group. Potentially tricky ties against Turkey and Estonia were well negotiated by a Spanish side who seem to be the complete package. Their starting XI is possibly the best in the world right now and they seem to have strength in depth, which is crucial when chasing top honours.

Spain have won all of their last 11 matches, and I wouldn’t bet against them winning the remainder of their qualification fixtures, sealing their place at the 2010 World Cup.
Spain – the best team in the world.
It’s as simple as that.