PREVIEW | The last 16 awaits in Eden
Built on a fertile swampy area full of lava caves where the Maori sheltered their food centuries ago, the Eden Park stadium will be a key stop for the national team this Wednesday as they pursue their World Cup dream.
This Wednesday from 9:30am Spanish peninsular time, live on La 2 TVE and with exhaustive minute-by-minute coverage on this official webpage, the national team can seal their second-ever qualification for the last 16 of the World Cup with a victory.
The match can be live from 9:30 (Spanish peninsular time) on TVE's La 2 and can be followed with minute by minute updates on this official webpage.
A win or draw against Costa Rica before the match against Japan would be enough to send Spain flying into the knock out stages. Clearly, a win would be better. Then next week, the match against the Japanese will be for to see who can top the group.
If they do win, Spain would not return to Auckland until the quarter-finals, but everything depends on first overcoming a dangerous Zambian team with spontaneity and speed as the main weapons of their game in their first World Cup appearance.
Click here to listen to what coach Jorge Vilda and player Irene Guerrero had to say before the match.
The names of Racheal Kudananji and Barbra Banda stand out from the rest in Bruce Mwape's Zambia side, who are coming off a heavy but potentially misleading defeat to Japan and will be in last chance saloon in terms of qualifying from the group.
The match will be officiated by South Korea's Oh-Hyeon Jeong, with compatriots Lee Seul-Gi and Mi-Suk Park as assistant referees and Croatia's Ivana Martinčić as fourth official.
Matching the opposition in intensity and stopping the Copper Queens' lightning fast counter-attacks will be the main tasks facing the Spanish national team as they look to hit their stride on the road to the latter stages of the World Cup after last week's dazzling opener in Wellington.
Having travelled north, Spain arrive in Auckland with all 23 players available and ready to make their bid for glory on the turf of a stadium with a special aura. With a win on Wednesday, Eden will be a one step closer for our national team.
