Things were looking complicated for the Spanish team as they traveled to Braga to face Portugal, the winner of this decisive fixture would send the victor to the “Final Four” of the UEFA Nations League.
Let’s have a look into the Spanish team, how they performed in this last international break before the World Cup, and what to expect in the international competition.
Swiss Struggles
Spain started the international break playing at home against a pretty impressive Switzerland side, one which continues to improve in the midst of their World Cup debut. The game was played at La Romareda (Zaragoza), and what was supposed to be a manageable match, proved to be everything but. Things got rough from the start, as Swiss defender Akanji opened the score from a corner (21′). The Manchester City player headed the ball home past Unai Simon, consequence of weak coverage from defender Pau Torres. This continues to be an issue for Luis Enrique’s team, the lack of presence in the box and coverage in set pieces. Spanish CBs (Torres and Garcia) struggle in high crosses, this particular pair of defenders don’t offer much advantage from their height, it seems as this squad still misses the upstairs authority Gerard Pique brought to the saga.
After the Swiss goal, Luis Enrique’s team continued to dominate possession of the ball, but the Spaniards created no significant scoring opportunities in the first half. This team has long set their passing identity, but nowadays it feels like if players are always looking for the “impossible pass”, which constantly leads to nothing. The Spanish team does not take full advantage of the sidelines, and as a result of lacking creativity to create danger from the middle of the field, they try to connect the midfield with the attackers from too far back, this leads to Morata being constantly isolated, so the striker has to create opportunities by himself.
The Spanish team can threaten their rivals using the sidelines, and that proved to be the case in the second half, when Jordi Alba attacked from the left and made a great finish onto the top corner (55’). After that Spain never really created anything, Switzerland regained the lead shortly after conceding (Embolo 58’), and even had additional chances to increase their lead. At full time (1-2) Luis Enrique, players, and fans felt dumbfounded as to what had just happened.
Neighbourly Visit
Coming off a tough loss at home, Spain had one last opportunity to win their group and advance to the “Final Four”, and not only that, but winning this game would certainly give them a huge morale boost as they make final preparations for their debut in the World Cup against Costa Rica. But in order to get it, they had to travel to Portugal (Group Leaders) and get a win. The Spanish National team had not won an away match against their Iberian neighbours in almost two decades. Luis Enrique made it clear this game was going to be a “final”.
The match certainly felt like a final. Both teams tried to get possession of the ball early on, and Spain managed to do so at first, but Portugal quickly shifted gears and had a couple chances that could have ended in goals. Spain on the other hand, even when in possession of the ball had the same problem we mentioned before; Spaniards always try to make the hardest pass to create chances, and they don’t had a player tonight with the creative vision to do it.
As minutes transpired and the second half gained tension, Luis Enrique made a couple changes, but one in particular made the difference. Nicholas Williams, who made his debut in the Senior National Team against Switzerland, has been a pleasant surprise and brought a much needed spark. As previously emphasized, Luis Enrique’s team can create serious damage when they play the sidelines. It’s a mystery why they don’t try to constantly utilize this precious resource. Williams started to work the sideline and it payed off, the youngster from Athletic Bilbao assisted Alvaro Morata as the game was coming to an end (88′), delivering an emphatic win for Spain. Portugal and Ronaldo couldn’t capitalize on several chances as they saw their rival clinch the last “Final Four” spot (FT 0-1).
Next Objective Qatar
The Spanish National Team could’t have asked for a better push to travel to Qatar. Luis Enrique will certainly look to capitalize this huge win against their rivals when they make their World Cup debut against Costa Rica (Wednesday, November 23rd). A win on their first match will mean tons of breathing room towards the toughest test in the group stages against Germany on match-day 2. (Match-day 3: Japan)
There is plenty of work to be done by Luis Enrique as he finalizes his final 26 player squad, but everybody’s nerves are at ease for the moment after last night’s win. This international break will give the Spanish Manager a much needed breather before making final adjustments. Spanish fans are expecting at least a deep Knock-out stages run in Qatar, so after what could’ve been had Spain not reached “Final Four” in the Nations League, making a bold statement against Portugal was just what this team needed.
