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Today, on Monday, the match between Spain and Tunisia in the U-11 category will end and the second round of the group stage of the World Championship taking place in Germany will begin. Although the clear favorites of the match will undoubtedly be the Spaniards, who won the first match 4-0, the beginning of the championship showed that favorites do not always manage to prove their superiority in the tournament.
Spain - Tunisia
Time: 22:00 h (Lithuanian time)
Stadium: Gottlieb Daimler Stadium
Referee: Carlos Simon (Brazil)
Previous meetings
So far, these two teams have never met.
Statistics, facts, predictions
Before the tournament, there were not many people who believed in Spain's chances to repeat at least their best performance at the World Cup, the fourth place in 1950. However, on Wednesday, in the first championship match in Leipzig, the Spaniards showed excellent gameplay and earned considerable confidence from the fans.
The result of the first match was impressive. In that game, the forwards of the Spanish clubs "Valencia" and "Atletico" - David Villa and Fernando Torres - performed effectively and spectacularly. The active involvement of all players in the game allowed the Spanish team to debut at the World Cup by defeating the Ukrainian national team. Xavi was recognized as the best player of the match, but as FIFA technical analysis group member Andy Roxburgh said, "there were five or six contenders."
In the match against Ukraine, the substitute Cesc Fabregas became the youngest footballer to play in the Spanish national team at the World Cup. The 19-year-old Arsenal wing-back improved the record set by Julen Guerrero at the 1994 World Cup. The latter was then twenty years old.
On Friday, the head coach of the Spanish national team, Luis Aragones, allowed his players to spend time with their wives, children, and friends.
Raul, who is participating in his third World Cup, will start this match again on the bench and will appear only after a substitution.
The Tunisian national team barely escaped defeat in the match against Saudi Arabia, snatching at least one point in the last minute of that match. Bolton defender Radhi Jaidi became the hero of that match when he sent the ball into the Arab goal in the 93rd minute. Taking away the title of the match hero from Saudi striker Sami Al-Jaber, who appeared on the field right at the end of the match and, after 90 seconds, defeated the Tunisian goalkeeper.
It is worth mentioning that the Tunisians were considered the favorites of this match.
The Tunisian national team of 1978 became the first African representative to win a match at the World Cup. They defeated the Mexican team with a score of 3-1.
"On Monday, we hope to be a completely different team. We really want to advance to the next stage and for that, we have to beat Ukraine in the last match, so we will do everything to defeat them," - Tunisian defender Adel Chedli said after the match.
It is known that the Spaniards are considered the favorites of this match, and if they celebrate the victory, they will secure a place in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, the Tunisian footballers would be satisfied with a draw. They themselves do not hide the fact that they will try to fight for a place in the next stage in the last group stage match against the Ukrainian team, which will try to redeem itself in front of its supporters in the match against Saudi Arabia. And a point won in that match would greatly help them in that fight.
Yassine Chikhaoui, Karim Haggui, Adel Chedli, and Riadh Bouazizi will not be able to appear in the match against the Ukrainian national team if they are shown yellow cards.
Injured players
The Spaniards will come out on the field with their strongest lineup.
Meanwhile, in the Tunisian national team, Francileudo dos Santos will most likely have to miss the second match due to a foot injury. It was expected that the footballer would be able to appear in this match, but the injury is likely more serious than expected.
Players, coaches' thoughts before the match
Spanish national team coach Luis Aragones' statement: "Historically, we have not achieved anything at the World Cup. This time we hope to achieve something, but tough matches await us against the Tunisian national team. They are a better football team than Ukraine, and we respect them."
The coach also believes that the Tunisian national team played below their abilities in the first few matches and admitted to being afraid of what they will show in the match on Monday.
Center-back Carles Puyol says: "We were not a bad team before, we are not a good team now. Such a start to the World Cup has lifted our spirits, but we must remain calm."
"So far, we have not done anything, we just played one good match. The next matches are approaching, and we will show the same enthusiasm in them as in the first ones," said forward Fernando Torres.
Tunisian national team player Radhi Jaidi said: "We cannot perform worse than we did in the previous matches. We must concentrate and not worry. Of course, we are motivated."
"We are armed no worse than they (the Spaniards), maybe our skill is lower, but we have more courage," said Tunisian national team coach Roger Lemerre. - We have many good players, and we will fight Spain. We will give it our all 100 percent."
"If they do everything, they can achieve victory, which would be a great gift," added the coach, who celebrated his 65th birthday on Sunday.
Projected Starting Lineups:
Spain(4-3-3): 1-Iker Casillas; 15-Sergio Ramos, 5-Carles Puyol, 22-Pablo Ibanez, 3-Mariano Pernia; 16-Marcos Senna, 14-Xabi Alonso, 8-Xavi; 11-Luis Garcia, 9-Fernando Torres, 21-David Villa.
Coach: Luis Aragones
Tunisia(4-4-2): 1-Ali Boumnijel; 6-Hatem Trabelsi, 15-Radhi Jaidi, 3-Karim Hagui, 18-David Jemmali; 20-Hamed Namouchi, 12-Joahar Mnari, 14-Adel Chedli, 13-Riadh Bouazizi; 5-Ziad Jaziri, 9-Yassine Chikhaoui.
Coach: Roger Lemerre
