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Spain shared points with Greece in a frustrating 1-1 draw. La Roja had to settle for a point in their opening World Cup qualifying fixture.
Dani Olmo produced the first big chance of the night as he came close to scoring for the hosts, but was denied by the woodwork. Minutes later, Alvaro Morata scored a beautiful goal after receiving a lofted pass from Koke. The Juventus forward did brilliantly to bring the ball down under his control before dispatching one into the net.
Spain had everything under their control, but substitute Inigo Martinez gave away a penalty after a reckless challenge on Giorgos Masouras. Anastasios Bakasetas made no mistake as he tucked the ball in perfectly from the spot to deny Spain all three points.
Spain vs. Greece: 5 talking points
#5. A lucky point for Greece
The Spanish national team would be feeling a bit hard done after the game. Greece did absolutely nothing throughout the game and still managed to grab a point from the fixture.
The game looked done and dusted, but Greece somehow managed to draw a penalty for themselves which was later slotted in by Bakasetas. Apart from the penalty, the visitors hardly did anything to salvage a draw.
#4. The substitution that cost Luis Enrique
Spain head coach Luis Enrique withdrew Sergio Ramos at half-time keeping in mind that he was coming in after a long break due to his injuries. The Real Madrid captain was replaced by Inigo Martinez.
Close to the hour mark, the Athletic Club defender put in a heavy challenge on Masouras to award a penalty to the visitors. The mistake cost his side a huge win in the opening fixture of the qualifiers.
#3. Spain need to create more chances
The Spaniards looked clueless when attacking. Spain need to be creating more chances against a team like Greece. Luis Enrique needs to ensure that the team moves the ball around with some real purpose and not just to keep hold of possession.
Spain had close to 80% possession, but they still failed to win the game. La Roja needs to be fearless and play those incisive passes down the center. They need to make those darting runs down those flanks or else all this possession will be for nothing in their upcoming games as well.
#2. Greece absolutely had no desire
The visitors were up against one of the most decorated teams in the game of football, and surely it was a daunting task. But sitting back and absorbing everything is not the solution.
Greece had no intent of attacking Spain as they were happy to sit back and defend everything that the Spaniards threw at them. They may have gotten lucky this time round, but if they plan to play like this in their remaining fixtures, they have absolutely no chance of qualifying.
#1. Pedri makes his debut for Spain
After impressing for FC Barcelona, Pedri was finally handed his debut for the Spanish national team by Luis Enrique. He came on for Olmo in the 64th minute of the game.
The 18-year-old had an impressive outing. Pedri was clean on the ball and did well to move high up the pitch and get into good positions. The youngster instilled a breath of fresh air after coming on.
