Spain’s lack of consistency continues as they drop points against Greece
The Spain national team has endured mixed results in the last two years.
La Roja used to dominate the world and boasted some of the finest talents around. However, that era has ended, and the team is now in the process of rebuilding.
Spain were eliminated from the 2014 World Cup at the group stage and exited the 2018 edition in the Round of 16 stage. Unfortunately, things are not looking good as the country begins another World Cup qualification series.
Luis Enrique’s side laboured to a 1-1 draw against Greece in a World Cup qualifying fixture that they were largely expected to win.
Spain wither against Greece
There is no doubt that the quality of players in the current Spain team is not the same as that of the side that dominated from 2008 to 2012.
However, the depth of La Roja’s underperformance in recent years has been shocking.
On Thursday, Spain largely threatened Greece and were almost always reactive. Alvaro Morata opened the scoring for Enrique’s side in the first half, but that was as far as they could get.
Spain were uninspiring in the second half and never looked like scoring once. Greece subsequently equalised thanks to a penalty from Anastasios Bakasetas.
La Roja have been very poor in recent years, and this will go down as one of their most disappointing performances.
Inconsistency continues for La Roja
Spain's form has been very porous in recent months, and the draw against Greece is the latest evidence of the team’s slump.
After the match, Enrique stated that he was concerned by the result, especially as La Roja have now won just one of their last five matches. He said (as quoted by Football Espana):
“I don’t like the result at all, nor have we been inspired. I liked the rhythm, but once we pinned Greece back we didn’t flow and fashion the chances that would have enabled us to take a clear lead.”
“This result doesn’t change anything for the next two games. [Attacking] is the most difficult phase in football, it depends on the situations you generate. I don’t think this result will influence the following ones.”
This result many have no bearing on subsequent games, but such inconsistency could derail Spain’s chances of qualifying for the World Cup.