Where did Spain go wrong against Germany?
For 70 minutes of Spain’s draw with Germany, you could have thought that Spain were facing a second-tier international side, unable to compete with Spain’s high level of quality and intensity.
For the remaining 20 minutes, you were more likely to think that Luis Enrique’s team were fortunate to cling on to the point as the Germans countered and attacked down both flanks to expose their weaknesses.
That’s not to say that Spain played badly, they actually played superbly well. But, it is still the case that in the final 30 minutes, Spain went from having 66% possession across the previous 60 minutes to 58% across the final 30. What changed to give Germany the chance to force their way back into the game?
Primarily, we have to look at the introduction of Álvaro Morata in attack. It was differential when Spain were in possession. With a reference point in attack, Spain found new opportunities opening up with well-timed runs and a more clinical finisher than Ferran Torres, who had three significant opportunities in the first half but failed to get a single one between the woodwork.
However, defensively, it unbalanced the front three. Up to that point, Asensio had been left relatively free of pressing responsibilities and he could drop deeper, with Olmo and Ferran carrying the majority of the pressing in the final third. However, with Asensio wide and not picking up the slack, the press became unbalanced and invited Germany to play out down Spain’s right. It was no surprise to see Nico Williams replace Asensio shortly after, but there was limited improvement.
That was also down to a smart tactical move from Hansi Flick. Sensing his opportunity, Germany switched to a back three with Joshua Kimmich dropping back alongside Antonio Rüdiger and Niklas Süle. That meant that Spain’s front three were now pressing against five players when their wing-backs dropped deeper, and left them completely outnumbered. There was no way of keeping up that high energy game which had run Germany ragged in the early stages of the encounter.
In such a context, Germany were able to play out. Having struggled to break out of their own half in possession for much of the game, they suddenly found themselves winning that battle. Spain’s other substitutions failed to remedy the situation. Koke, usually brought in as a holding midfielder, lacked the intensity and energy of Gavi to press higher, while Alejandro Baldé’s introduction introduced a whole other issue.
The Germans were finally up and running in wide areas and had Jamal Musiala and Serge Gnabry running at them at pace. That was an issue given that neither Dani Carvajal nor Jordi Alba were in optimal physical shape coming into the closing stages of this game, and Luis Enrique looked to remedy it by bringing in Baldé. However, in only his second senior international appearance, he took a few minutes to adapt to the pace of the game and tune in to the rhythm of the match. That was enough to give Niclas Füllkrug half a yard of space to break free and score the equaliser.
Minutes later, we saw the same again, this time as Gnabry countered and left Carvajal in a heap on the floor gasping for breath as he watched his German counterpart’s heels run beyond him. Fortunately, Unai Simón came out and the cut-back was cleared.
This was a strong display from Spain, but it showed signs that may give some of their more serious rivals hope. The likes of Brazil and so on, who could face them later in the competition, will likely have been watching with intrigue to see how Spain could falter once they tire and lose that energy that characterises their game.
The challenge for any side coming up against this Spain team will be to be able to stay standing and in the fight until that happens, but they may now feel that they have a glimmer of hope should they manage to do so.