Xabi Alonso issues Spain vs France prediction ahead of World Cup semi-final | OneFootball

Spaniard weighed in on Stateside action as he spoke at his Chelsea unveiling

Xabi Alonso believes Spain are capable of winning the World Cup as they gear up to face France in the semi-final.

La Roja have been generally unconvincing in reaching this stage of the competition, requiring late winners from Mikel Merino to get past Belgium and Portugal in each of the last two rounds.

Facing the popular favourites France in the semi-final, who have yet to concede in the knockout rounds, they will require a famous victory if they are to book a place in the final, where they would face one of England or Argentina.

But Alonso, himself a World Cup winner with Spain in 2010, is confident his nation can get the job done, tipping them to go all the way ahead of the France clash.

Speaking at his unveiling as Chelsea’s new manager on Monday, he said: "(Spain) have a great team and I can see them winning this World Cup for sure.

Mikel Merino has made a habit of scoring vital goals for club and country this season

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“They play really good and they have a really strong team."

Alonso went on, saying some aspects of this Spain side reminds him of the team which went all the way 16 years ago.

"Actually seeing all the Spanish games, it brings me a lot of memories from the World Cup that we won, because of the team, because of the energy that they transmit, because of the control they have on the games.

Spain face their toughest test of the summer so far as they meet France in the World Cup semi-final

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"We have many reasons to be optimistic for sure. Whatever will happen with France, it is going to be a fantastic game to watch, so really looking forward to it."

Chelsea still have four players representing their nations at the World Cup, with Malo Gusto in line to feature against Spain on Tuesday.

But Alonso insisted their absences have not impacted his pre-season training programme, which got underway last week.

"It was already in the plan, so it is not a big surprise that at this stage we still have some players. I am happy for them because what they are living is an unforgettable experience.

"Hopefully at the end we will have a world champion when they come back to Cobham and we will celebrate that, but we adapt, we have to be flexible in that situation and we will have to speed it up in preparation with some players, but it is going to happen."