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