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FIFA CONFEDERATIONS CUP

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MATCH STATS

Nigeria could be without forward Nnamdi Oduamadi for their final Group B match against Spain.

He was substituted at half-time against Uruguay after being injured by a heavy tackle.

Spain may recall the key squad members who were rested for their 10-0 win against Tahiti.

Valencia striker Roberto Soldado could lead the line despite Fernando Torres and David Villa netting a total of seven times against Tahiti.

MATCH PREVIEW

Eddy Etaeta, the coach of Spain's last victims Tahiti, described facing the world and European champions as "mission impossible". While Nigeria clearly boast more pedigree than the Oceania minnows, it is at best a case of "mission improbable" as the Super Eagles try to salvage a semi-final place.

All four teams in Group B have a mathematical chance of progressing, but realistically Stephen Keshi's men must beat the Spanish.

Fernando Torres and Mickael Roche

Confederations Cup: Spain fire 10 past Tahiti

Even a win may not be enough if Uruguay thrash Tahiti; La Celeste will finish above the Africans if their winning margin against Tahiti is five goals greater than Nigeria's against Spain.

The same equation applies if Uruguay's victory margin is four goals greater, and they score four more goals on the day.

The permutations don't make for encouraging reading, but there is at least one omen Stephen Keshi's men can take heart from. Spain's only previous defeat to African opposition came against the Super Eagles at the 1998 World Cup.

The Nigerian coach is refusing to give up hope: "Of course we do have a chance, until the end of the 90 minutes you can't tell what is going to happen," he says.

Spain are, theoretically at least, not yet assured of a semi-final berth. However, only a defeat by four goals or more would leave them at risk of elimination.

It is an almost unthinkable outcome, and not one midfielder Juan Mata is entertaining: "The idea is to top the group and then we'll see. We have come to Brazil to win the title and currently we are on the right track," he says.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

  • The only previous meeting of the sides came in the group stage of the 1998 World Cup. Nigeria beat Spain 3-2 in Nantes thanks to Sunday Oliseh's winner. Nigeria's current assistant manager Daniel Amokachi was an unused substitute in that match.
  • That defeat proved costly for the Spanish, who failed to progress to the knock-out stage despite winning their final match, against Bulgaria, 6-1.
  • Nigeria beat Spain on penalties to win the Fifa Under-17 World Cup final in 2007. Jordi Alba was in the Spanish squad for that tournament, although he did not play in the final.

Nigeria

  • The Super Eagles have not beaten European opposition since a 1-0 win in France in a friendly in November 2009. Joseph Akpala got the winner.
  • Defeat to Uruguay ended Nigeria's 18-match unbeaten run, which had spanned 13 months.
  • It was also their first loss in Confederations Cup history; they also competed at the 1995 tournament and went home unbeaten, although they lost a third-place play-off to Mexico on penalties.

Spain

  • Spain's 10-0 victory against Tahiti is the biggest ever winning margin by a men's senior team at a Fifa tournament. The only other side to net 10 was Hungary, who beat El Salvador 10-1 at the 1982 World Cup.
  • Fernando Torres is the second Spaniard to score four goals in a single match at a major international tournament. The first was Emilio Butragueno, in a 5-1 victory against Denmark at the 1986 World Cup.
  • Torres and David Villa both netted at least three goals against Tahiti. The last time two Spaniards netted hat-tricks in the same game was in an 8-0 win against Cyprus in 1999, when Ismael Urzaiz and Julen Guerrero bagged three apiece.

MOST RECENT MEETING

Spain 2-3 Nigeria (June 1998, World Cup group stage)

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