Follow Spain Investment Immigration and Spain Life news: At 4:00 AM Beijing time this Saturday, the Spanish national team will host Belarus in a World Cup qualifying match. Currently, in Group I of the European zone, Spain leads with 14 points from 6 matches, while France has also collected 14 points after 7 matches. Since Spain holds the head-to-head advantage over France and the French team has only one match remaining, the La Roja simply need to defeat Belarus to secure their ticket to the Brazil World Cup a round early. Both "Marca" and "AS" have revealed Spain's starting lineup, with Del Bosque set to continue using the "false nine" formation that brought success in the 2012 European Championship.
In goal, although Iker Casillas is not yet a regular starter at Real Madrid and has just recovered from injury, Del Bosque maintains great trust in him. Even though Victor Valdés recently achieved the feat of saving two penalties in four days, his seniority and experience cannot compare to Casillas when it comes to the national team. In defense, Gerard Piqué, who missed the last national team training camp due to suspension, has returned and will partner Sergio Ramos at center-back. Álvaro Arbeloa will continue to anchor the right side, while due to Jordi Alba's injury absence, Arsenal's Nacho Monreal will get the start at left-back.
In midfield, the Barcelona trio of Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, and Sergio Busquets remains untouchable. Due to the absence of a central striker, Cesc Fàbregas will play as a "false nine," with Pedro playing as a left winger. As for the right-wing position, "Marca" believes it will go to the young Atlético Madrid player Koke, while "AS" suggests Del Bosque will choose between David Silva and Koke. With Fernando Torres, Roberto Soldado, and Fernando Llorente left out of the current squad, and David Villa pulling out due to injury to be replaced by Michu, Negredo is the only pure center-forward Del Bosque has left. However, the coach ultimately opted for the "false nine" formation, which he considers more secure.
While defeating Belarus to secure qualification for the World Cup is expected, the lack of depth in the attacking line remains a headache for Del Bosque. This is why the Spanish Football Federation is striving to naturalize Atlético Madrid's Brazilian star striker, Diego Costa. Although the Brazilian Football Confederation is interfering and coach Luiz Felipe Scolari plans to travel to Madrid soon to negotiate with Costa personally to convince him to continue playing for Brazil in the future, Costa seems determined to join the Spanish ranks. In fact, many Spanish national players have already expressed their welcome to Costa, and it now depends on how quickly the Spanish Football Federation can finalize the matter.
In the current Spanish squad, only two players have never played for the national team: Swansea forward Michu, who replaced Villa, and Sevilla left-back Alberto Moreno. Michu's success in the Premier League last season needs no repeating; he helped Swansea win the League Cup and scored 22 goals in 43 matches across all competitions. If Spain secures a victory early, Del Bosque may give Michu his debut. Moreno's experience is even more remarkable; the 21-year-old rising star was playing for Sevilla B in the Tercera División last season and was only promoted to the Sevilla first team in February of this year. This summer, he followed Spain's U21 team to win the European Championship, and now he has not only become a national team player but also renewed his contract with Sevilla, with a buyout clause of 30 million euros. Moreno has already attracted interest from several giants, including Real Madrid, and he will form a "double insurance" on the left side for the Spanish national team alongside Jordi Alba.
Spain's Predicted Starting Lineup (4-3-3): Casillas / Arbeloa, Ramos, Piqué, Monreal / Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta / Silva (Koke), Fàbregas, Pedro