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The 2010 World Cup champions, Spain, were eliminated by 2018 hosts Russia, in a dramatic penalty shoot-out in Moscow on Sunday. This represented another shock at this World Cup and has thrown open the lower half of the draw. Now, we are left with an intriguing situation where none of the players left in the tournament have played in the final of a World Cup, let alone win it.
Spain topped their group with two draws and a win but never looked convincing. They seemed to lack a cutting edge against teams that were willing to sit back and defend deep. This shortcoming was brought to the fore against the hosts, with Spain failing to carve out clear-cut opportunities, despite stringing together 1029 passes.
The famed ‘tiki-taka’ that brought unparalleled success to La Roja might just have been found out and Spain need to brew up a new recipe for success moving ahead.
There are, however, a few tweaks that Spain could have made against Russia, which would have resulted in the Russians dancing to the Spanish tune. Through this article, we will look at those changes and how it could have shaped a different outcome.
#3 Dropping Iniesta
Fernando Hierro sprung a surprise when he left Andres Iniesta out of the starting eleven. The indications were that he wanted a more energetic midfield and thus preferred Koke. Iniesta still has the ability to pick the lock of any defence, however, he is not as mobile as he used to be.
Though Koke and Busquets made the midfield compact, they lacked in imagination and inventiveness. Koke is an excellent midfielder, but the situation called for a more attack-minded midfielder. Russia presented a threat on the counter but Hierro erred on the side of caution by playing two holding midfielders.
A probable solution could have been to start with Thiago or Saul. These two options would have ticked the energy box while also being more attacking. The straightforward option, however, would have been to persist with Iniesta.
Spain’s build-up play was slow. A major reason was that Koke and Busquets invariably passed the ball sideways or backwards rather than forward. After Iniesta was brought on, one could see a marked difference in the way Spain played. Their passing was slicker and they moved the ball around quickly, dragging the Russian defence into uncomfortable areas.
After their exit, a lot of fingers will be pointed at the manager for his questionable team selection. Had he picked Iniesta in his starting eleven, Spain could well have continued their Russian crusade.
#2 David Silva's poor form
David Silva had been instrumental in Manchester City’s run to the title this season. He was expected to continue in the same vein and inspire Spain to their second World Cup as well, however, he looked a pale shadow of himself throughout the tournament.
Spain played very narrow with the full backs providing the width. This enabled the opposition to defend the width of the penalty area and thwart all of Spain’s attacks. While the inclusion of Marco Asensio was a step in the right direction, his inclusion should have come at the cost of David Silva, rather than Thiago or Iniesta.
With Silva out of form, he could not contribute anything of note to Spain’s forward play. Silva also contributed very little defensively, thus making the case for Asensio’s or Lucas Vasquez’s introduction stronger.
This takes nothing away from the outstanding qualities of Silva, though.
When he is on song, he is one of the most exquisite passers of the football, but in such a crucial game, the manager could have been more pragmatic and replaced him with someone from Spain’s talented bench.
A little break would have done Silva a world of good, and he could have influenced the game as an impact substitute. A rejuvenated Silva would have been a much harder proposition for Russia to tackle.
#3 Not giving Rodrigo a chance earlier
Rodrigo was Spain’s first-choice striker in the friendlies in March, however, once Diego Costa was back to his best, he made the striker spot his own. Costa started the tournament like a man possessed, scoring three goals in two games and establishing himself as one of the front-runners for the golden boot.
His form dipped extraordinarily in the next couple of games and he was a peripheral figure against Russia as well. Costa boasts of an all-action aggressive style of play, where he ruffles the defenders with his aggressive running and closing down. He also likes to run into the channels and create space for others to thrive, but in the game against Russia, nothing clicked for him and he was anonymous throughout the game.
When Rodrigo was brought on, he provided the direct running that Spain had been craving. His first contribution was latching onto a through ball and drawing a smart save from Akinfeev. He continued to wreak havoc by dropping deep and then running into space. This caused the Russian defence real problems and they seemed unable to cope with it. In the end, however, it turned out to be a case of too little, too late.
This represents another tactical error on the part of Hierro, but he could be given the benefit of the doubt, having taken over only a day prior to the start of the tournament.
A day after their elimination, the La Roja supporters will be wondering what could have been, had Rodrigo been brought on earlier.
