Monday 23 June is the 12th day of this World Cup and brings us the conclusion of the first two groups, let’s take a look at what is to come in Group B.
Rather uniquely, Group B already has pretty much everything decided before the final round of fixtures as Spain and Australia have already been eliminated while Chile and the Netherlands have already secured their respective places in the second round.
Spain vs Australia
This game is just about as beneficial as a post season friendly for both sides as they will have already made their arrangements to travel home.
Reigning champions Spain shocked the world as they succumbed to a 5-1 defeat at the hands of the Netherlands before slumping to a 2-0 defeat to Chile in their second game, the latter confirmed that they would not make it out of the group stages. La Roja have been a shadow of their former selves in the two games they have played and amazingly, have conceded more goals than anybody else at the tournament after the first two rounds of fixtures.
The Socceroos will no doubt look to approach the game in similar fashion to their previous game against the Dutch, where they very nearly caused an upset after proving very stubborn opposition for the Oranje. The Australians performed admirably against Louis van Gaal’s men only to lose to a long range strike which should have been stopped by goalkeeper Mat Ryan.
Expect Spain to make a few changes for this game and for Australia to put on another frustrating performance but La Roja should come out as eventual winners.
Chile vs Netherlands
Before the tournament kicked off I predicted this game to be a decisive one, but rather to decide who accompanied Spain into the second round, rather than to decide who went through as group leaders.
This looks set to be a historic occasion for the Oranje, at least, as they look to make history in quite an unusual way. With Robin van Persie’s absence being forced through suspension, the Netherlands are set to name a starting eleven without the presence of someone whose name contains ‘Van’ for the first time in over 200 matches.
According to Dutch newspaper, Algemeen Dagblad,the last time a Dutch eleven took the field without a ‘Van’ was when they played China in a friendly in 1996. You have to go back a further two years to find the last time it happened in a World Cup, when they played Belgium in 1994.
Chile may look to rest a few players, including Arturo Vidal for the game as their progression is confirmed and the Juventus midfielder’s fitness has been called into question already this tournament, though it didn’t appear to be an issue when they took on Spain as he was an an unstoppable force.
Both teams will be looking to win, in order to set up a more kind second round match against the runner up of Group A, and the loser of the match will likely face hosts Brazil.
Follow Conor Clancy on Twitter: @concalcio
