Despite Cristiano Ronaldo’s late equaliser, Spain’s draw against Portugal left a sweet taste for La Roja fans. Fernando Hierro’s team had a tough challenge to overcome, especially after the Lopetegui saga a couple of days before their World Cup debut. Here we break down five reasons to celebrate the team’s premiere and one to be concerned about:
The question was whether everything that had happened between Julen Lopetegui and Luis Rubiales was going to affect the La Roja players. Hierro’s team, however, were calm and concentrated against a difficult opponent. Not dominating the games from now on isn’t an excuse, especially after the superiority they showed against Fernando Santos’ squad.
Although his performances for Spain have been constantly criticised, Diego Costa put an end to the discussion on who should be the striker of the national team. The Atletico Madrid player scored a brace against the Portuguese and his performance was excellent for Spain.
Portugal went in front twice, once after the penalty and the second time a minute before the end of the first half after David De Gea’s error. Despite the mistakes, which could have proven crucial, Spain fought back to overturn the result and if it hadn’t been for Cristiano’s free-kick, they could have secured an impressive win.
Despite all the positive aspects of the game, the three conceded goals should concern Fernando Hierro and his players. The fragility both between the goalposts and individual mistakes in the backline should be fixed, if La Roja are to go all the way to the World Cup trophy.