Ex-Liverpool boss Benitez fears for England against Spain

Former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez feels England will struggle against Spain today.

Led at club level by Barcelona the Spanish football style of possession and movement is now envied and coveted throughout the world.

Benitez expects England to get a close-up view of exactly how it works and is interested to see how Capello counters the threat.

"Their (Spain's) main idea will be possession, long transitions providing width which forces defenders to be more open and looking for wall passes to penetrate when they can," he wrote in his blog on rafabenitez.com.

"If they don't find the gaps they have enough one-against-one ability to go past defenders in reduced spaces.

"Given the quality and versatility of most of their offensive players they can switch positions without reducing the effectiveness of the attack.

"It's the opposite, in fact, because the defenders have problems adjusting to a different player all the time.

"The full-backs will be open and in advanced positions, taking advantage of the possession Spain have, making the opposition defend deep and forcing them further away from the Spanish goal making it more difficult to counter-attack.

"The closest players will also press after losing the ball making counter-attack even more difficult.

"People are wondering how to stop the Spanish. Which is more important - technical ability or passion and physical effort, whether you can play more direct against the Spanish or play possession football like them?

"The Champions League final (in May) showed that the Barcelona style, similar to the Spanish national team, was able to conquer Manchester United, Premier League champions.

"England have to decide how they want to play but Capello is a good coach with a lot of experience and he is fully aware of the difficulties in this game.

"Despite it being a friendly he knows he has to assemble a team, choose a style of play with an eye on the Euros but at the same time win - or at least give a good account of themselves against the European and world champions."