Humbled at Hampden
Humbled at Hampden
A deserved defeat in Luis de la Fuente’s first away match in charge as Scotland caused Spain plenty of pain in the rain in Glasgow.
‘The grass was too long’. ‘They kept time-wasting’. ‘We played a good game’. ‘It was small details’.
Sorry lads, no one is fooled. Spain were comfortably and comprehensively beaten in Glasgow in their second European Championship qualifier, as Scotland took control of the group and left Luis de la Fuente with plenty of headaches and serious questions to answer.
Following the 3-0 win in Málaga on Sunday, Spain’s new coach decided to make eight changes to the starting eleven. Only Kepa in goal and the two midfielders Rodri (captain on the night) and Mikel Merino kept their starting places. Such a significant raft of changes was asking for trouble and so it proved.
For a back four which was playing together for the first time — including David García on debut — Scotland’s intense start had them on the back foot. When Pedro Porro was trying to create himself half a yard of space under pressure from Andy Robertson, he slipped and allowed the Scottish captain to burst onto the ball and pick out Scott McTominay whose strike was deflected to end up beyond Kepa’s reach.
Porro became the pantomime villain when he went down and stayed down under a challenge from Robertson, the home crowd showing their displeasure at the Spanish theatrics. There was plenty of it around.
After his dream debut on Saturday, Joselu claimed he felt like an 18-year-old. At times in this game he appeared to have regressed by an additional decade, thumping the turf in frustration like a bad-tempered child who couldn’t get what he wanted. A penalty in this instance, the Espanyol striker feeling strongly that his shirt was pulled.
The tantrums and niggly fouls were a feature and typified Spain’s growing frustration. Either they did not expect this type of game or were too arrogant in thinking they could easily overcome it regardless.
If Porro had a bad first half, Dani Carvajal did his best to surpass him in the second. Scotland doubled their lead in similar fashion to the first: a forceful run from the left creating an opening in the box. Kieran Tierney won the ball in his own half and burst forward, trying to hold off Carvajal. Then when the Real Madrid man tried to usher him off the pitch, he simply turned on the boosters and blistered past him. Carvajal was roasted by a player who has barely started for Arsenal this season. To say the goal was reminiscent of the way Gareth Bale left Marc Bartra for dust in that Copa del Rey final would be an exaggeration, but not by much.
Spain huffed and puffed but rarely created anything of note. For a goalkeeper playing in just his second international, Angus Gunn was untroubled. Nico Williams, Borja Iglesias and Iago Aspas were all on by the end but struggled to make any impact, apart from the latter smashing into Ryan Porteous. The Celta man was booked, but was probably fortunate not to see red for a challenge that was nasty with malicious intent – another example of the frustration boiling over.
“I don't move an inch from the idea that I transfer to the players" — Luis de la Fuente reaffirming his commitment to his plan for the project.
It was a batacazo, a defeat that shouldn’t happen in the minds of many, yet was fully deserved. Scotland outshot and outsmarted the Spanish. Luis de la Fuente’s first defeat comes early and is Spain’s first reversal in a Euro Qualifier since 2014, and the first time they have failed to score in one since 2006. The last time Spain lost to the Scots, De la Fuente was playing for Athletic Club in the mid-1980s and Kenny Dalglish was among the scorers.
It is hard to remember the last time Spain misplaced so many passes, frequently failing to reach their target and often ending up out of play. There is a danger that this group is in denial, or at least approaching that stage. The thinking appears muddled. A case in point is the use of Álvaro Morata: captain on Saturday, unused substitute on Tuesday.
The official national team account made reference to “an aggressive” Scotland, which was curious, especially given the fact that Spain committed more fouls in the match. It hints at a broader theme that emerged post-match, players and coach alike not so much offering explanations as lame excuses. Those included Rodri’s sour spite, David García’s long grass, and De la Fuente’s assertion that Spain played well but were penalised by two small details.
There appears to be a holier than thou attitude when things do not go as planned, that there must be some extraneous reason for the defeat as opposed to admitting they just weren’t good enough. This moral superiority complex will do them no favours going forward and will win them no friends.
At the end of this international window, many questions remain. Pedri will be a welcome return, but across the rest of the team there are uncertainties. Who is the number one? What is the plan defensively, especially at right-back? Who will play in the forward areas? Looking at the lineup, the experience in terms of combined caps was well below the 180 Sergio Ramos earned, speaking to the change of cycle. However, how many in that lineup are even playing well for their clubs at present, let alone justifying a starting position for their nation. The answer can probably be counted on one hand. Some observers called it the worst Spain team for years.
It certainly was not pretty, nor effective. Spain have to lick their wounds and focus on the Nations League finals which they reached under Luis Enrique. There may well need to be some soul-searching done in the meantime.