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Spain v France preview - Torres and Alonso on suspension tightrope; Les Bleus wait on Cabaye
Posted Saturday, June 23, 2012 by Sky Sport

Spain v France preview - Torres and Alonso on suspension tightrope; Les Bleus wait on Cabaye
Laurent Blanc: Plotting an upset against defending champions Spain

Strength in depth

But there is also an old score to settle, with Spain still stinging from being mugged by a Zinedine Zidane-inspired France in the last 16 of the 2006 World Cup.

Spain manager Del Bosque maintains it would be 'bad' if he did not have any doubts over just what side to pick for this summer's meeting with France.

Del Bosque accepts the strength of his squad will mean there is always debate over who should start.

The world champions were hardly convincing as they eked out a 1-0 victory over Croatia to win Group C with seven points from their three games, having opened with a draw against Italy.

And Del Bosque, who again played without a natural striker once Fernando Torres had been withdrawn with half-an-hour remaining against Croatia, has indicated no firm decision has been made on how to line up against France.

'No conflict'

Blanc, in contrast, has had to spend the build-up to the match dismissing speculation about a bust-up in the France camp.

The manager has admitted strong words were exchanged between members of the squad in the wake of the defeat by Sweden, which cost them top spot in Group D behind England.

But Blanc is adamant there is 'no conflict' within his squad amid rumours of similarities to the mass row which led to predecessor Raymond Domenech and France returning from the 2010 World Cup in humiliation.

Spain, who lost Carles Puyol and David Villa before Euro 2012 to injury, have no major new fitness concerns.

Alvaro Arbeloa, Jordi Alba, Torres, Xabi Alonso - who will win his 100th cap if he plays - and Javi Martinez are all a booking away from a suspension.

France pair Samir Nasri and Franck Ribery sat out Wednesday's training session due to "minor problems".

It remains to be seen whether Yohan Cabaye will return after the Newcastle star missed the Sweden defeat with a thigh problem.

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Standings
    Rank Team W/D/L Pts

    Cities & Stadiums

    The Top 3 Teams of Previous Tournaments

    Year Winners Runner-up Third place
    2008SpainGermanyRussia / Turkey
    2004GreecePortugalNetherlands / Czech Republic
    2000FranceItalyNetherlands / Portugal
    1996GermanyCzech RepublicFrance / England
    1992DenmarkGermanyNetherlands / Sweden
    1988NetherlandsSoviet UnionItaly / West Germany
    1984FranceSpainDenmark / Portugal
    1980West GermanyBelgiumCzechoslovakia
    1976CzechoslovakiaWest GermanyNetherlands
    1972West GermanySoviet UnionBelgium
    1968ItalyYugoslaviaEngland
    1964SpainSoviet UnionHungary
    1960Soviet UnionYugoslaviaCzechoslovakia