TC Admin

May 11 2010, 12:57 PM

The goalkeepers are solid.

BBC Sport

 

Both nations are sweating on the fitness of a striker named Suazo. Honduran David Suazo, of Inter Milan, is struggling to recover in time from a leg muscle injury, while Chile's main goalscorer Humberto Suazo is nursing a left thigh problem.

Neither player was originally expected to feature in this game but both remain hopeful of being involved.

Honduras have become the first country in World Cup history to select three brothers in their squad after calling up Jerry Palacios on Tuesday. He joins brothers Wilson and Johnny in South Africa after replacing injured Torino star Julio Cesar de Leon.

MATCH PREVIEW

The date of this match carries great resonance for both countries: Honduras made their World Cup debut 28 years ago to the day, while Chile earned their last World Cup victory on 16 June 1962.

That win for Chile, at the expense of Yugoslavia, was as host nation in the third-place play-off. They have since endured a 13-match winless run in World Cup finals, the equal-third worst sequence in the tournament's history.

Nonetheless, Chile are in confident mood after qualifying impressively for the first time since 1998. They finished second in the South American qualifying group, a mere point behind Brazil, and Argentinean coach Marcelo Bielsa has forged a dynamic, attacking side in a bold 3-3-1-3 formation.

For Honduras, victory is merely being in South Africa. Qualification for their second World Cup finals came when the USA denied Costa Rica with a 94th-minute equaliser, bringing welcome relief to Honduras after months of political turmoil. Nobody fancied them in 1982 either, but they held hosts Spain to a draw in their opening game and also took a point off Northern Ireland.

MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head

-This is the first competitive match between these two nations.

- Chile lead Honduras by three wins to two in their five previous meetings. Honduras won 2-0 in the most recent encounter, in January 2009, with Carlos Pavon and Amado Guevara scoring in Florida.

Honduras

- Honduras are seeking their first World Cup victory. They drew two and lost one of their three group matches in 1982, conceding one goal in each game.

- They are winless in their last five matches, failing to score in four of them (D2, L3).

- Their biggest win against a South American side was a 2-0 quarter-final defeat of Brazil at the 2001 Copa America.

Chile

- Chile have only once progressed beyond the World Cup group stage in six attempts outside of their own country. In 1998 they reached the last 16, when they lost 4-1 to Brazil.

- Chile are winless in 13 World Cup games (D6, L7), the worst current run in the finals. Mexico also fared as badly between 1930 and 1962, while South Korea went 14 matches without a victory until 2002 and Bulgaria endured a record 17-match winless streak between 1962 and 1994.

- Chile have won eight of their last 10 matches prior to the World Cup, including the last three.

- Humberto Suazo was the top South American scorer in World Cup qualifying with 10 goals.

- Head coach Marcelo Bielsa was in charge of Argentina when they failed to progress from the group stage at the 2002 World Cup.

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Eddy Maillet (Seychelles)

Assistants: Evarist Menkouande (Cameroon) & Bechir Hassani (Tunisia)

Fourth official: Yuichi Nishimura (Japan)

BBC Sport

 

Spain striker Fernando Torres is likely to play a part off the bench as he is eased back after a knee injury, so Vicente del Bosque could opt for a five-man midfield with David Villa playing as a lone striker.

Andres Iniesta is winning his fitness battle and may start, so Cesc Fabregas is likely be on the bench.

Switzerland are missing captain Alex Frei, who has an ankle injury, so Eren Derdiyok will take his place in attack.

West Ham midfielder Valon Behrami has also been ruled out by coach Ottmar Hitzfeld.

MATCH PREVIEW

Spain and Switzerland are the last two teams to get their World Cup campaign under way and, having watched the quality of matches that have gone before them, the Spaniards must be licking their lips in anticipation at the prospect of unleashing their attacking geniuses in South Africa.

David Villa is nicknamed 'El Guaje', and Fernando Torres has long gone by the monicker of 'El Nino' - both mean 'the kid' but there is nothing green about the Spanish strikers on the international stage.

Del Bosque's side can quite rightly feel aggrieved that they enter the World Cup ranked only second in the world and as the second favourites to win the tournament behind Brazil. After all, the have won 45 of their last 48 matches and are the reigning European champions. They have played more World Cup matches than any other nation without actually winning the trophy. They may never get a better chance than this one.

The Swiss are lead by legendary manager Ottmar Hitzfeld and they will be quietly confident that his nous and experience can help steer them into second place in Group H. Remarkably, they were knocked out of the last World Cup at the second-round stage without conceding a single goal in the tournament. Given the quality of opposition they face on Wednesday, they would be absolutely delighted if they could last 90 minutes with a nil in the against column.

MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head

- Spain and Switzerland have met 18 times in international football. Spain have won 15, Switzerland none and there have been three draws.

- This match will feature two of the five coaches to have won the Champions League twice: Switzerland's Hitzfeld and Spain's Del Bosque.

SPAIN

- Spain have played the most World Cup matches without ever lifting the trophy (49).

- On 29 May 2010, Carlos Marchena broke the world record held by Brazilian Garrincha for players who have played in the most successive international matches without defeat. The 3-2 friendly victory against Saudi Arabia was his 50th international match in a row without suffering a loss.

- Spain have won 27 of their last 28 international matches. Their only defeat in their last 48 games came in a 2-0 reverse to the USA at the 2009 Confederations Cup.

SWITZERLAND

- They have not won their opening match at the World Cup since 1954, when they beat Italy 2-1.

- Switzerland are the only nation ever to be knocked out of a World Cup without conceding a single goal (in the second round in 2006).

- Prior to these four consecutive clean sheets, they had failed to keep one in all 22 of their previous World Cup matches.

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Howard Webb (England)

Assistants: Darren Cann & Michael Mullarkey (England)

Fourth official: Martin Hansson (Sweden)

BBC Sport

 

South Africa coach Carlos Parreira is likely to recall experienced left-back Tsepo Masilela to the starting line-up in the only expected change. He replaced Lucas Thwala in the second half against Mexico.

Uruguay will be without Nicolas Lodeiro, who was sent off in the draw with France, but he was not expected to start anyway. Coach Oscar Tabarez will play with three forwards, with Edison Cavani replacing midfielder Ignacio Gonzalez. Diego Forlan is expected to drop deeper and play behind Cavani and Luis Suarez.

One booking from suspension: Dikgacoi, Masilela (South Africa); Victorino, Lugano (Uruguay).

MATCH PREVIEW

Uruguay will be aiming to silence the buzz around Bafana Bafana when the sides meet in Pretoria on Wednesday. To a deafening backdrop of vuvuzela horns, the hosts blew away any fears that they could be embarrassed at their own World Cup. Siphiwe Tshabalala's spectacular strike may not have been enough to secure victory against Mexico, but Carlos Parreira's side have made their point.

With the opening-day jitters now out of the way, South Africa's dreams of a second-round spot will face a moment of truth against Uruguay. Coach Carlos Parreira has suggested four points might be enough to reach the knockout phase and, with 2006 finalists France to come in their final game, Bafana Bafana regard Uruguay as their best hope of claiming a victory.

'La Celeste', of course, will have similar ambitions in a match they will also have targeted as the easiest of their Group A encounters. Oscar Tabarez's side earned a point with a dogged display in a goalless draw with France, and the coach has admitted his team will need to go on the attack against South Africa: "Our next match requires a new dimension. We always say the first game defines how the group will evolve but in this instance the next game now will shape the group."

A word of warning for vuvuzela-haters - following the opening-day draw with Mexico, South Africa goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune complained that the support at Soccer City was not loud enough, so expect a whole new level of din at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Wednesday!

MATCH STATS
Head-to-head

- South Africa have not beaten Uruguay in two previous meetings. At the 1997 Confederations Cup the South Americans edged a 4-3 victory. The sides also ground out a goalless draw in a friendly at Ellis Park, Johannesburg, in September 2007.

South Africa

- Carlos Parreira's side, who are the second lowest-ranked side in the tournament (83) after North Korea (105), are on an unbeaten run of 13 matches.

- South Africa are unbeaten in matches played in Pretoria, with three victories and two draws.

- Parreira is managing at his sixth World Cup after Kuwait (1982), the United Arab Emirates (1990), Saudi Arabia (1998) and Brazil (1994 and 2006).

Uruguay

- South American sides are yet to beat a host nation during the first round of a World Cup.

- In 15 World Cup matches since reaching the semi-finals in 1970, Uruguay have mustered just one victory, a last-minute win over South Korea in 1990. The man in the dugout that day was current coach Oscar Tabarez.

OFFICIALS

Referee: Massimo Busacca (Switzerland)

Assistants: Matthias Arnet, Francesco Buragina (both Switzerland)

Fourth official: Wolfgang Stark (Germany)