Two nations bowing out of the 2014 World Cup will do battle today in a match between Australia and Spain. The group-stage match scheduled for 12 p.m. ET will be held at the Arena da Baixada in Curitiba and can be live streamed here free. A free Spanish language stream of the match can be found here. Free radio coverage here. Additional TV coverage can be found on ESPN2.
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Despite Australia's fate already being sealed, head coach Ange Postecoglou remains motivated ahead of today's encounter. For him, a third-ever World Cup victory would serve as a message being sent from his young side.
"I don't think we've got nothing to play for, I think we've got plenty to play for," said Postecoglou (via FIFA). "I have already said that this is our fourth World Cup and we've only won two World Cup games, so if we are going to make an effort to improve and become the nation we want to become, we need to start winning games at this level.
"We've got plenty of motivation," he added. "It's far from a dead rubber for us and the fact that we are putting out a young team tomorrow is not because we are trying to experiment, we are putting out the team we think can win the game."
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Tactical Preview
Player to Watch: It's all about the future of the Spanish national team, with Koke jumping into the fold. The 22-year-old made 36 league appearances for Atletico Madrid last season, scoring six goals and adding 13 assists. His average of 1.9 key passes per match will make Spain's transition in the midfield less painful than some imagine.
Australia's Projected Lineup (4-2-3-1): Ryan; Davidson, Spiranovic, Wilkinson, McGowan; Bozanic, Jedinak; Oar, Troisi, Halloran; Leckie
Spain's Projected Lineup (4-1-4-1): Reina; Alba, Ramos, Albiol, Juanfran; Busquets; Cazorla, Koke, Fabregas, Mata; Costa
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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