Spain needs to get its defense together if it wants to stay in contention at the World Cup. The first goal conceded by Spain on Monday came after a mix-up between captain Sergio Ramos and veteran Andres Iniesta while they exchanged passes near midfield. Neither committed to the ball, and Morocco forward Khalid Boutaib ran with it to score the opener. The second goal was a header by Youssef En-Nesyri, who was not well-marked after a cross into the Spanish area. Players and coach Fernando Hierro know La Roja won’t go much further if it keeps repeating the defensive mistakes it made in the group stage.
“This is not the right path for us. It will be impossible if we keep conceding so much,” Hierro said. “We need to improve. Every occasion against us is dangerous. If we want to go far in the World Cup, we have to make some adjustments. We have to recognize that this is not working. We have to be self-critical and recognize that we can’t concede like this. We suffered too much.”
One of the pre-tournament favorites, Spain hasn’t impressed so far and just made it through to the round of 16 after a 2-2 draw against Morocco on Monday in Kaliningrad. Solid defense had been one of the team’s hallmarks, but it has conceded five goals in its first three matches in Russia.
“Beginning now it’s ‘win or go home,’ and we can’t keep giving away goals like that,” midfielder Francisco “Isco” Alarcon said. “We need to get more focused. We are not being able to do what we do best, which is to control the match.”
“If we want to achieve bigger goals, we have to change the attitude,” Ramos said. “We need to become more balanced and more secure defensively. In the attack we have the talent that makes the difference.”