World Cup 2014 friendlies: England a bore, Spain and Argentina solid

Spain dominated El Salvador at FedEx Field on Saturday, but their finishing wasn’t always there. Luckily for them, it was for David Villa on two occasions and they were able to ride that to a 2-0 win.

The defending world champions spent seemingly the entire first half on the ball, but they couldn’t score a goal. They had a chance four minutes in when they got a penalty, but Cesc Fabregas skied it over the bar and from that point on Henry Hernandez wasn’t even under fire. Spain just couldn’t break down El Salvador, passing the ball around 30 yards from goal before trying to hit a cross or bringing the ball back before going over the top to no avail.

Nigeria offers a good combination of athleticism and skill in attack and has a rock-solid midfield, anchored by John Obi Mikel and Ogenyi Onazi. Their style of play -- especially with their talented wingers cutting inside -- will give the U.S. a good idea of what they’ll face in Ghana. And they’re better than the Black Stars in defense and goal, so it couldn’t be a better warm-up.

Match date/time: Saturday, 6 p.m. ET

However, Honduras won’t even come close to mimicking Costa Rica in formation. The Hondurans switch between defensive variations of 4-4-2 and 4-5-1, while Costa Rica will probably play three central defenders when they face England.

Match date/time: Saturday, 4:45 p.m. ET

While Spain can usually expect to get pretty friendly crowds wherever they go, they’re probably stepping into a true away game on Saturday. The game is being played in Maryland, which has a massive Salvadoran population, so expect to see a lot more blue and white in the stands than you see red and yellow.

Otherwise, Spain’s team isn’t obvious for this game. Don’t be surprised if Del Bosque gives a chance to a number of possible key subs ahead of his first choice players for this match. His first team already knows each other well.

However, this is Argentina’s last friendly before the World Cup, so Sabella won’t get a chance to play his best forward line together -- or his best right back with the rest of the starting defense -- before they begin the tournament.

Match date/time: Saturday, 2:45 p.m. ET