Spain will be looking to bounce back from disappointment
against Iceland when when they meet Latvia at the Nuevo Carlos Tartiere
stadium in Oviedo this evening.
Alonso dismissed
Spain lie third in Group F in qualifying for UEFA EURO 2008T, level on
points with Northern Ireland but three behind leaders Sweden, and will
need to improve on their 1-1 draw with Iceland when they had Andres Iniesta's
late goal to thank for a point after playing 70 minutes with ten men following
Xabi Alonso's early sending off.
Pressure
After a poor start to their qualifying campaign a run of six matches without
defeat had raised Spanish morale, but Saturday's draw in Reykjavik has
put the pressure back on coach Luis Aragones's side. "We would be
making a grave mistake if we think we can beat teams easily and the results
prove that," Aragones said. "We could have won in Reykjavik
even with ten players. We had the chance to put qualifying in our hands
and we didn't make the most of our chances."
'Focus'
Valencia CF midfielder David Albelda is expected to come in for Xabi Alonso
and Aragones also has Cesc Fabregas available after suspension. With four
matches to go in Group F there is little margin for error. "We're
all in the same boat," said FC Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez
who is in line to win his 50th cap. "We're committed, our work is
good and we believe in what we're doing. We have to analyse what happened
in the first half against Iceland but there's no need to be alarmist either.
Our only focus is on reaching the final tournament."
Latvia confident
The draw with Iceland ended a run of four straight wins for Spain in Group
F, and they now come up against a Latvia side buoyed by their surprise
victory against Northern Ireland on Saturday. Latvia are fifth in the
section, with six points from seven games.
,
12 September 2007
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