Spain have been a shadow of their former selves at the 2018 World Cup, winning one of four games and departing at the hands of Russia in the last-16. Here, we detail what went so wrong.
De Gea’s Drop
Coming into the World Cup as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, David De Gea’s reputation suffered a blow in the opener with Portugal as he let Cristiano Ronaldo’s straightforward effort slip through his gloves. And he struggled to recover, losing the trust of his backline and making a single save to six goals conceded,a tournament low.
Lopetegui Shambles
Whoever Roja fans want to blame for Julen Lopetegui’s exit two days before their World Cup campaign began, it was clearly a massive destabiliser. From the coach himself to Real Madrid’s brashness, to the Spanish FA and its new president Luis Rubiales, who ultimately pulled the trigger so soon after his election.
Fallen Stars
Spain were predictable, slow and lacked creative spark. It is hard not to point at the performances of David Silva, Andres Iniesta and Dani Carvajal as among those who failed in this key part of their game. Maybe only Isco and substitute strikers Iago Aspas and Rodrigo Moreno reached their expected levels.
Dirty Sheets
Looking back to La Roja’s winning period between 2008 and 2012, they kept 13 clean sheets in their 19 European Championship and World Cup matches. Since 2014, they have played 11 times and conceded 17 goals. The statistics bear a clear truth and silly goals such as Gerard Pique’s handball versus Russia and Morocco’s opener, via Iniesta and Sergio Ramos’ sloppy play, should have been avoided.
No Penetration
The tally of 1,114 passes they made against Russia counts as a World Cup record but also for very little, given how so many of them were sideways and without any kind of threat. Intent was lacking, as were width and depth, and Fernando Hierro rarely sent his team out to go more direct or pack the box with strikers.