Hombre! Who can score against Spain?
Despite settling for a shocking scoreless draw against Cape Verde in their World Cup opener, the Spaniards cruised through group play with three clean sheets.
Perhaps it was weak competition in Group H, but Spain’s overwhelming possession game has to count for something.
La Roja has been the World Cup’s most fluid passing team bar none. They are averaging the most accurate passes per match — especially in the attacking third — by over 40 and lead the tournament in possession (69.4 percent). A lot of this is attributed to Spain’s technically gifted midfield of Rodri, Pedri and Fabian Ruiz, who form an elite engine of defensive control.
Austria will take a crack at ending the Spaniards’ 34-game unbeaten streak in the Round of 32 on Thursday.
World Cup: Spain vs. Austria prediction, best bet
Line shoppers can grab Spain for the market’s best -290 at FanDuel while Austria is as long as +950.
The Austrians will seek to disrupt Spain’s possession with Ralf Ragnick’s “press and stress” philosophy. We’ve seen them create overloads around the ball to close off passing lanes and force errors, which can transition into direct attacks the other way.
Their attack against elite defenses draws doubts, however.
Austria’s Marko Arnautovic celebrates scoring their first goal IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Kylie Graham TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters
In their 2-0 defeat to Argentina, they had only one shot on target from six attempts, managed just 0.5 expected goals (xG) and registered a minimal 0.05 post-shot xG. Argentina shares a spot with Spain within the top-five possession teams in the tournament, but they don’t come close to their possession share.
Their 3-3 draw with Algeria also exposed defensive weaknesses that Spain’s quick passing combinations and wide attackers like Lamine Yamal can exploit.
Even if Spain may not have the same lethal attack it had in Euro 2024, the defense has compensated. Goalkeeper Unai Simón has only had to make four saves and they have conceded a tournament-leading 0.5 xG.
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Although they haven’t played one another since 2009, La Roja has owned the all-time head-to-head history at 9-4-3, including a 9-0 spanking in 1999.
We’ve seen some shocking upsets go down in the Round of 32, but this one will play out accordingly.
THE PLAY: Spain -1.5 (+100, FanDuel)
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Sean Treppedi handicaps the NFL, NHL, MLB and college football for the New York Post. He primarily focuses on picks that reflect market value while tracking trends to mitigate risk.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
