World Cup 2018: 3 reasons why Spain lost their place in the tournament

#3 Not giving Rodrigo a chance earlier

Spain v Russia: Round of 16 - 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia

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.