Sunday - the second day of the round of 16 matches at the World Cup. Two favorites, Spain and hopeful hosts Russia, will meet in a crucial battle. In the second match, two European teams will face off - the undefeated Croatia and the pragmatic Denmark. You can watch all the World Cup matches on the official broadcaster LRT.
Will the hosts manage to withstand the Spanish attacking machine?
On Sunday in Moscow, Group B leader Spain will play against the host team Russia, who finished second in Group A after losing to Uruguay. Spain are clear favorites in this match, but the Russians are not planning to give up easily at home.
Russia started the tournament strongly - they thrashed Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the opening match, and then beat Egypt 3-1. In the final group match, Russia faced Uruguay for the top spot in Group A. The Russians were not able to withstand Uruguay's attacking flair and lost 0-3. However, the South Americans eliminated the European champions Portugal from the tournament on Saturday, so their strength should not be underestimated.
Spain started the tournament with a draw against Portugal, then narrowly beat Iran 1-0. In the final group match, Morocco showed that they could resist, and the Spanish team only managed to equalize in the final minutes with a 2-2 draw, securing their spot in the next stage.
"La Roja" will aim to dominate the match against Russia by controlling the ball as much as possible. Russia, of course, will try not to give in to this. Before the tournament, it was believed that the Russian team - one of the weakest in the championship, but they have now reached the knockout stage and will look to prove that they are better than most experts thought.
Russia's coach Stanislav Cherchesov said before the match that they have analyzed Spain's playing style, but it is difficult to find ways to beat the Spaniards.
Spain's coach, Fernando Hierro, can be relieved that his players have no injuries, but there are other concerns. Goalkeeper David de Gea has faced criticism for his performances in the tournament, but the coach is likely to continue to trust him. De Gea has already conceded 5 goals in this tournament. Another question is whether the coach will risk allowing Sergio Busquets to play, who, if he receives another yellow card, will miss the next match, which they will need to secure a place in.
Russia will be without Igor Smolnikov due to a red card received in the match against Uruguay.
The statistics are not favorable for Russia. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has never beaten Spain. In the last three meetings between the teams in major tournaments, Russia has always lost to Spain: in the group stage and semifinals of the 2008 European Championship, and in the group stage of the 2004 European Championship.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has only qualified for the knockout stages of an international tournament once - the 2008 European Championship.
Attention in the Spain team should be focused on Isco, who has contributed to 12 out of 15 goals scored by the national team in international tournaments.
Possible lineups:
Spain: David De Gea, Dani Carvajal, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Koke, Andres Iniesta, Isco, Diego Costa, and Iago Aspas.
Russia: Igor Akinfeev, Mario Fernandes, Ilya Kutepov, Sergey Ignashevich, Yuri Zhirkov, Roman Zobnin, Roman Zobnin, Khristian Ndji, Aleksandr Samedov, Aleksandr Golovin, Denis Cheryshev, Artem Dzyuba.
Will Croatia's golden generation continue their winning streak against the Danes?
The second Sunday match will treat viewers to a battle between two European teams - Denmark and Croatia. The Scandinavians will face not just any, but often called the golden Croatian national team, which, although has no gold yet, has started this World Cup so well that there is increasingly talk of real chances to become the tournament champions.
In the first group stage matches, Croatia demonstrated their superiority by defeating Nigeria 2-0, then thumping Argentina 3-0, and finally not sparing newbies Iceland 2-1. They finished first in Group D.
Denmark's path in the tournament has been different - they drew with Australia and narrowly won against Peru. In the last match in Moscow against France, they recorded their first draw of the tournament and finished second in Group C.
Croatia did not field their strongest lineup against Iceland, as they wanted their leaders to have more rest. Against Denmark, there will be no room for rest, so it is expected that there will be several changes in the starting lineup compared to the last match.
Denmark's assistant coach Jonas Dalas Romasson said that William Kvist is likely to play in Sunday's match after sustaining an injury in the first match. Also, right-back Yussuf Poulsen may return to the starting lineup.
Croatian Ivan Rakitic said before the match that the 1998 Croatian national team was amazing and they consider it their ideals, but comparing the current team to that one should not be forgotten that they are writing their own history now and can achieve even more than in 1998.
Croatia and Denmark have met five times before this match, with two victories for each team and one draw. The last time the teams faced each other was in 2004 in a friendly match, and Croatia won 2-1.
The statistics are not favorable for Denmark - Croatia has won five out of six matches in major tournaments against European teams. The Scandinavians are also on an unbeaten streak - they have not lost in 18 consecutive matches. Their last loss was in October 2016 against Montenegro.
Even five of Zlatko Dalic's players have scored in this tournament in the second half, so the Danes will have to be cautious, especially towards the end of the match.
Possible lineups:
Croatia: Subasic; Vrsaljko, Lovren, Vida, Strinic; Rakitic, Brozovic, Modric; Perisic, Mandzukic, Rebic.
Denmark: Schmeichel; Dalsgaard, Kjaer, Christensen, Larsen; Schone, Delaney; Poulsen, Eriksen, Sisto; Jorgensen.
lrt.lt
