World Cup 2010 Know Your Rivals: Group H – Team Weaknesses

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In this special series we bring you the local knowledge of the world's leading football tournament. With our worldwide team of experts, each one based in the country in question - from Brazil to North Korea - you'll hear first-hand the latest team news, exclusive interviews, and fan opinions of your World Cup opponents.

Spain

With Ivar Matusevich

Iker Casillas is a good 'keeper, one of the best in fact. But when it comes to set-pieces like corners and free-kicks, problems can arise for Spain's #1.

Our left-sided full-backs are also a source of distress for us. Alvaro Arbeloa is very competent in defence, but suffers when going forward, whereas Joan Capdevila is a great attacker, but not so wonderful when defending. We need someone to step up and take charge of the left-back spot. Monreal or Koikili are potential candidates, but we're not holding our breath in that department.

For me, the biggest doubt is Del Bosque's capacity for reading stategies. I'm not saying that he isn't a great coach, but we might have problems if the games don't play into our hands. For example, the coach failed to shut down the USA in the Confederations Cup, and we all know how that turned out.

Honduras

With Marco Aguilar

Against Turkey in the recent friendly, we saw all the Honduras' potential weaknesses are against European teams, starting with the goalkeeper. Noel Valladares started every qualifying game and friendly match, but he won't be taking part in the World Cup. It looks like Donis Escober will be in goal in South Africa, this could cause problems in terms of squad familiarity.

However, the part that worries us most is the centre of our defence. The two players who impressed during qualifying aren't currently starting for their club sides. Victor Bernandez simply isn't playing at Anderlecht this year, while Osmas Chavez, contracted to Plantense in Honduras, has started just twice since November as he's been travelling across Europe on a trial basis with several clubs. Coach Reinaldo Rueda has spoken about this publicly and has even said that they may not travel to the World Cup unless this changes. That's a major doubt for the Honduran team.

Chile

With Nacho Briso

It has to be said, the biggest weakness that Chile possess is their defence. We're hoping that karma swings our way and lends us a helping hand, but hope is all we can do I'm afraid. With such naturally small players, our centre-backs are going to struggle against any European team.

And it's not just height that's a problem at the back, it's age, and thus experience, that also proves to be a major shortcoming. As such, we don't have a leader amongst the defenders unless you include our goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. It's due to this that I feel our games will be a case of scoring more than the opponent we are facing, as our forward play is good, rather than keeping it tight at the back, which is where we will suffer.

Switzerland

With Erik Bruhlmann

The Swiss team has - obviously - several weak points. The most important one, to me, is that they are usually not able to take charge of a game. Or as we say in Switzerland: They are always as good or as bad as the side on the other half of the pitch. This explains why the 'Nati' can work miracles in matches against the likes of France (0-0, 1-1 and 0-0 in the last three matches), while being humiliated by teams like Azerbaijan (losing 0-1 in '96 - the Azerbaijani were reportedly thinking of declaring this day a national holiday...) or Luxembourg (losing 1-2 at home in 2008).

The reason for this may be twofold: First, the 'Nati' is a team with three languages - (Swiss) German, Italian and French. So when anybody wants to give the guys a little heat, he'll have to say what he wants to say three times. Second: The Swiss have rarely ever had dominant players in their teams. No Ballack who can lift his team's spirit just by being on the pitch, no Gattuso who can make a point with a nasty tackling. They're a type of player that is just not native to Switzerland - and that the team is and will probably always be missing in close matches.

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