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3. Midfield battle
The Spanish midfield may prove to be too strong for both Italy and Brazil
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It is said that a game of football is won and lost in the midfield. Very true. Spain’s footballing philosophy is an extreme application of that belief; so much so that they have opted to play with a false no. 9 at times as they do not like a striker remaining aloof at the head of the pitch. They like players to participate in every offensive move, and that is what they will do in each of the two games. Italy are likely to remain resistant as they try to keep Spain out of the net for as long as possible, whereas Brazil will try to get the ball and utilize their pace on the wings to break down Spain. Italy’s strategy is likely to back-fire as they do not have a strong enough defense, whereas it will be interesting to see how the Brazilian midfield copes when they are deprived of the ball.
