Win alone may not fetch Javier clemency

If Paraguay score their first goal of the tournament and upset Group D winners Nigeria, then Spain will be out even if they beat Bulgaria in Lens.

If Spain lose, they are out anyway and Javier Clemente will almost certainly join the list of ex-World Cup coaches. Nigeria have six points, Paraguay two and Spain and Bulgaria one.

The conclusion from all the number crunching is that supporters can expect a strongly attacking game between the two sides at the Felix Bollaert Stadium and a nail-biting night.

Clemente, a no-nonsense Basque, may ring the changes although he would be the last personto divulge his plans.

But change may only further infuriate the media at home who called for his head after the 0-0 draw with Paraguay in which he made five alterations to his line-up and failed to give Real Madrid goal-scorer Fernando Morientes a start.

Real Madrid striker Raul, who scored against Nigeria but made little impact against Paraguay and was substituted, will probably be the key man up front but mid-fielder and talisman Julen Guerrero may find himself on the sidelines again.

The Spaniards have not lost in 31 internationals with him in the side but he has not been picked in the two matches here.

Bulgaria, beaten 1-0 by Nigeria, look to ageing strikers Hristo Stoichkov, Emil Kostadinov and Lyuboslav Penev to get them out of their hole.

Stoichkov is yet to turn on the style after being joint top scorer in USA ’94 and Bulgaria have not found the net, although they came close against Nigeria in losing 1-0.

They cannot exactly be described as a settled team, with Stoichkov and Penev bothfined on Monday for staying out in Paris two days before the Spain game, missing a news conference and a team tactics talk.

Probable teams: Spain: 1-Andoni Zubizarreta (captain); 4-Rafael Alkorta, 5-Abelardo, 12-Sergi, 15-Carlos Aguilera, 6-Fernando Hierro, 18-Guillermo Amor, 21-Luis Enrique, 9-Juan Antonio Pizzi, 10-Raul, 17-Joseba Etxeberria.

Bulgaria: 1-Zdravko Zdravkov; 3-Trifon Ivanov (captain), 2-Radostin Kishishev, 4-Ivailo Petkov, 13-Gosho Ginchev, 14-Marian Hristov, 6-Zlatko Yankov, 10-Krassimir Balakov, 11-Ilian Iliev, 7-Emil Kostadinov, 8-Hristo Stoichkov.