SPAIN, HOLLAND, CHILE, AUSTRALIA

WORLD CUP HISTORY For years, Spain were considered the underachievers of World Cup football. Always blessed with a team full of talent until 2010 and the drama of South Africa, the Furia Roja had failed to break their Jules Rimet drought.

That fruitless spell, however, belies a record in international football ' s biggest competition that is more than respectable. Their worst spell coincided, paradoxically, with Real Madrid ' s dominance of the 1950s and 1960s. Since hosting in 1982, Spain have qualified and made the knockout stage of every competition.

Previous World Cup appearances( 13): 1934, 1950, 1962, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010.

ROAD TO BRAZIL 2014 The holders emerged unbeaten over their eight matches, with back-to-back home draws against Finland and France a mere blip. They did not trail at any stage of qualification.

STAR MAN

ANDRES INIESTA: Pass, pass, and pass again. Barcelona’ s midfield man will torment any side making them chase all day for possession – and then chase some more. He might be out of the limelight at the club level with Lionel Messi and Neymar both operating at the Camp Nou, but he ' s the last man to score in a World Cup, notching the extra-time winner against the Netherlands in the 2010 final. An elegant, refined playmaker who stands out despite Spain having a boatload of creative players, Iniesta is virtually impossible to defend against when he ' s on his game.

16 COMPLETE FOOTBALL

WE’ RE THE CHAMPS: La Furia Roja desperate to retain World Cup title

Spain. The defending World Champions are also double European Champions, and as such they ' re automatically one of the favorites in whichever tournament they ' re playing in. That ' s not to say that Spain are invincible, they lost their first group stage game four years ago but they ' re very, very good. Formed mostly from an impressive core of Real Madrid and Barcelona players, La Roja boast the likes of Andres Iniesta, Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos. And the emergence of Diego Costa as one of La Liga ' s top scorers means that the questions over their centre forward position may well have been resolved.

Spain have won the last three major tournaments they have entered, so you have to fancy them! The only thing that ' s stacked against them is history as no European team has won the World Cup in South America. This Spain team remains more than capable of changing that though.

MISSION: The holders will fancy their chances of keeping their beloved trophy and gaining a second star on their crest with a successful campaign in Brazil. Vital to this dream becoming a reality is that they top Group B, leading to the likelihood of a game

KEY MAN

SERGIO RAMOS: Playing at centre back in a team bristling with stars can result in getting overlooked but Spain would truly miss enterprising yet robust defender Sergio Ramos. Capped 115 times at the age of 27, he has started 18 of their last 19 tournament matches and was everpresent during qualifying. against Mexico or Croatia instead of hosts Brazil.

PREPARATION: Spain, just like African champions Nigeria will feature in an eight-team 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil warm-up tournament to be staged in the United States between 27 May and 10 June.

The ' Road To Brazil ' event, organised by Major League Soccer, also f e a t u r e s B o s n i a- Herzegovina, Greece, Côte d ' Ivoire, Honduras, as well as two teams not going to Brazil- Bolivia and El Salvador.

HIGH POINT: Andres Iniesta’ s e x t r a t i m e winning goal in the South Africa 2010 final ended y e a r s o f underachieveme nt by Spain – and m e a n t t h e beautiful game triumphed over H o l l a n d’ s attempts to kick them off the park.

LOW POINT: In the quarter-finals of USA ' 94, La Furia Roja suffered what was probably their most frustrating defeat in their entire history in the tournament, losing to Italy 2-1 after Julio Salinas had gone on one-on-one with Gianluca Pagliuca with five minutes remaining but failed to beat the Italy ' keeper. It would have surely been the winning goal and secured Spain ' s place in the semi-finals. After that missed chance by Salinas, Italy scored the winning goal through Roberto Baggio and then the referee ignored a stone-wall penalty for Spain

COACH VINCENTE DEL BOSQUE: A 62-year-old genius who found a way to end the traditional feuds between players from Barcelona and Real Madrid and got all the talents pulling in the same direction. Only man to win three major tournaments in a

Juan Fran

Navas

STRONGEST LINE-UP

Pique

Xavi

Casillas

Busquets

Costa

Ramos

Iniesta

FORMATION: 4-1-4-1

KEY

MAN DIEGO COSTA: Striker Diego Costa has chosen adopted nation Spain over Brazil, the country of his birth, and can expect a hostile reception next summer if selected. The Atletico Madrid forward has confirmed himself as one of the world ' s most prolific strikers over the course of the 2013-14 season. At the World Cup, he will have the chance to show Spain that he can be the centre-forward who leads them to a

Jordi Alba

Pedro