Pressure on Del Bosque
Pressure on Del Bosque
Since Friday's shock 5-1 World Cup reverse to Group B rivals Netherlands, Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has been bombarded with advice about personnel changes he needs to make before Wednesday's Chile clash.
It remains to be seen whether the genial 63-year-old will make any adjustments following the holders' woeful second-half performance in their opening match in Salvador but he certainly has plenty of talent to call on if he decides tweaks are needed.
Although the scale of Friday's thrashing was truly shocking, Del Bosque reacted with much the same calm as when Spain slipped to a 1-0 defeat in their opening game in South Africa four years ago before they went on a six-match winning run that secured their first world title.
"We may make two or three changes," Del Bosque said in an interview with Spanish television broadcaster Cuatro on Monday.
"If I make changes we are not pointing the finger at anyone," he added.
Captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas looks certain to keep his place despite an error-riddled performance against the Dutch when he lost some of the sheen that earned him the nickname "San Iker" in his native country.
One area where Del Bosque could introduce fresh blood is in central defence, with the versatile Javi Martinez waiting in the wings to replace either Sergio Ramos or Gerard Pique.
Martinez could also come in for Xabi Alonso to bolster central midfield, an area Spain normally dominate effortlessly but where they were brutally exposed on Friday.
Playmaker Xavi, who at 34 is nearing the end of a glittering career, may make way for young pretender Koke, 22, who had a breakthrough season with Atletico Madrid and whom Xavi himself recently named as his natural successor.
Chile forward Esteban Paredes said the South Americans, who began their campaign in Brazil with a laboured 3-1 win against Australia in Cuiaba, had been practising their pressing game before the Spain game in Rio De Janeiro.
"It is going to be a matter of life and death for them and a genuine final for us because a win would practically see us through to the next round," Paredes said.