 Spain
finally lifted their penalty shoot out
jinx with Italy in the quarter finals to
finally progress to the semi finals of a
major tournament.
In fairness, they were
the more dangerous of the two sides
throughout the game and Luis Aragones
will be hoping he can end his reign as
Spanish coach by lifting the trophy on
June 29th.
We already know about Spain's great
attacking options, with Xavi, Iniesta,
Torres and Villa but I've been equally
impressed by the performance of Puyol
and Marchena at the back, who dealt with
the aerial threat of Luca Toni in the
quarter finals extremely well and in Sergio
Ramos Spain also have a defender likes
to get forward at every opportunity.
Firstly however, they will have to overcome
this tricky semi final tie with a
resurgent Russian side, a team Spain
have already beaten in the tournament
4-1, but this is expected to be a lot
closer.
.
 The
Russians seem to be a completely different
side which was defeated by Spain in the
group stages, and it is apparent that the
return of Arshavin from suspension has
completely changed the look of the side. It
is not very often that one player can
transform a side but the Zenit St Petersburg
player has done just that - and he now looks
one of the stars of the tournament.
Not only that, it seems that Guus Hiddink has brought the best out of his
players, with Spartak Moscow's
Roman Pavlyuchenko now looking a big threat
going forward, and in Alexander Anyukov and
Yuri Zhirkov Russia have two of the best
attacking full backs in the tournament. A
blow for them will be the loss to
suspension of Torbinski and Kolodin, who
formed a great partnership with Sergei
Ignashevich in keeping Ruud Van Nistelrooy
quiet for the majority of the quarter final
game.
Bookmakers make Spain favourites at 11/10
(2.1), while the draw is 5/2 (3.5) and
Russia are 3/1 (4.0)
I don't really want to be seen to be carried
away with the Russian bandwagon but for me
they impressed so much against the
Netherlands that I have a feeling they can
cause yet another upset here today.
Lets not forget that Holland were one of the
favourites for the tournament, and Russia
simply outplayed them, both tactically and
going forward, creating a whole wealth of
chances and they really should have won by
more. Of course in Arshavin the have won of
the form players in the tournament, who will
be fresher than most after missing the first
two qualification games.
Betfair offer a
free £25 bet on this game
and
Russia +0.5 @ 1.9 is the call.
The only thing which worries me is that
Russia do look fragile defending the set
piece, but if we look at the Spanish side
they aren't the most physical and do lack an
out and out 'big man', so I feel reassured
that Russia will be able to cope. In Guus
Hiddink they have a man who is astute
tactically and can once again inspire his
side, and of course he will face the double
threat of David Villa and Fernando Torres as
opposed to the sole striker that Holland
employed in Ruud Van Nistelrooy.
Interestingly, Russia had 54% of the
possession in their 4-1 defeat by Spain in
the group stages, and if they can retain a
similar amount they now have the confidence
and more importantly Arshavin to create alot
more chances for Pavlyuchenko, who
definitely has the height advantage over
Puyol and Marchena.
Another superb game to look forward to, a
great tactical battle between two
experienced managers in Aragones and Hiddink
and two great sets of forwards.
But ultimately Russia to triumph with the
help of the handicap.
Now where's my vodka?
© Free-Bets.uk 2008
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