World Cup 2018: 4 key takeaways as Russia stun Spain in penalties

#4 Possession without intent

Spain's attempts at catching Russia with their possession backfired spectacularly

Spain had almost 80% of the ball over the course of the 120 minutes, and still managed to score only one goal - that too an own-goal. It is sad to see the team that popularised tiki-taka fall victim to their own system.

The teams these days understand how to deconstruct the tiki-taka - all you have to do is sit back, and then use the numbers to prevent the final pass into the box - and it was something that Russia took care of expertly.

They refused to go on the counter and leave themselves unnecessarily vulnerable and were content with playing out the time and going to the penalty shootout - which is, in most cases, as predictable as a coin toss.

Spain also completed 1006 passes during the game, while Russia managed just 191. Most of Spain's passes was rotations between the defenders, and a lot of unnecessary passing within themselves looking to tire the Russians out.

Unfortunately for them, Russia never walked into that trap. They defended with their lives, took their only chance and then kept their nerves to knock Spain out. It might not be pretty, but I will be damned if it is not effective.

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