The selection falls in Zaragoza and will have to win on Tuesday in Portugal if it wants to be in the final phase of the League of Nations.
La Roja exhibits its worst face two months after its debut in the Qatar World Cup.
Two months after his debut in the Qatar World Cup (will premiere on November 23 before Costa Rica), Spain exhibited its worst image. Disconnected, fragile and without a spark, the selection of Luis Enrique succumbed this Saturday to Swiss in the penultimate appointment of his group of the League of Nations (1-2). the return to Zaragoza 19 years later he was disgraced and the Red must win next Tuesday in Portugal if you want to be in the final four of the Nations League in June 2023.
had warned Luis Enrique in anticipation that the team should live in the present. It’s easy to say, but with the World Cup so close all thoughts lead to that appointment. The League of Nations, moreover, is a strange competition that appears and disappears without much logic. It is true that interest is gained compared to friendlies of the past, but over time it has gone from being an attractive novelty to a rather annoying procedure.
Six azulgranas
Luis Enrique bet from the start for an eleven with culé agglomeration There were six azulgranas in the squad’s call and not one remained on the bench. Full of the Barça in alignment with Eric García and Jordi Alba in defence; the trident Busquets-Gavi-Pedri in midfield for the first time at the start of the national team; Y Ferran Torres in the attack on the right. Up, Asensiothe only Real Madrid player in the eleven, became the reference as a false nine, leaving Morata on the bench.
The Asturian’s plan did not work. He did not even throw the Red on goal in a first half in which he only shone in possession (75%). Without depth and too predictable, The team was left without a presence in the area, while their rival limited themselves to exploiting an archaic resource that ended up paying dividends: balls into the area in search of superiority from above.
Plunger warned for the first time with a high header (m. 11) and ten minutes later the Swiss goal came with a chopped testazo of Akanji, who was ahead of Azpilicueta and Pau Torres. He wasn’t overly inspired either. Unai Simon. The Athletic goalkeeper, however, avoided the second away goal after a beautiful play from Shaqirithe most talented player in the Central European team.
Alba draws
Located in the 16th place in the FIFA ranking, Switzerland arrived at La Romareda with their victory against Portugal as their last success. Luis Enrique had already warned of the danger of a combative block, which already put Spain in a lot of trouble during the last European Championship, in which they went to the semifinals in the penalty shootout. More distant is that memory of 2010, when Switzerland beat Spain in the premiere of a World Cup that would end up conquering the Red.
With a Swiss victory in Zaragoza and a Portuguese victory in Prague, the picture was not too encouraging at half-time. seemed necessary move the tree and play the right keys, but Lucho maintained confidence in his eleven and Jordi Alba put the tables at the culmination of a remarkable action of Asensio (d. 55). The Barça winger and the Madrid striker, two regular substitutes at their clubs, celebrated the goal in a big way.
Own goal by Eric
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Far from clarifying the panorama for the national team, it was Switzerland that struck again with its usual formula. A new corner with the Akanji and Embolo towers ended with a own goal by Eric García (m. 58). Too many indecisions in a defense that does not intimidate anyone.
That goal did activate Luis Enrique, who struck down the three attackers to give entry to Jeremiah Pino and the debutantes Borja Iglesias and Nico Williams. A gray Pedri was also substituted, but nothing improved. Spain remained stuck while Portugal strolled in Prague.
Spain, 1; Switzerland, 2
SPAIN: Unai Simon (4); Azpilicueta (4), Eric García (4), Pau Torres (4), Jordi Alba (6); Gavi (6), Busquets (5), Pedri (4); Ferran Torres (4), Asensio (6), Sarabia (4). Coach: Luis Enrique (4). Changes: Nico Williams (6) for Sarabia (m. 63); Borja Iglesias (5) by Asensio (m. 63); Yeremi Pino (5) by Ferran (m. 63); Marcos Llorente (4) for Pedri (m. 70); Soler (sc) by Azpilicueta (d. 86).
SWITZERLAND: Summer (7); Widmer (6), Akanji (7), Elvedi (6), Ricardo Rodriguez (6); Freuler (6), Xhaka (7), Sow (6), Shaqiri (7), Vargas (6); Penis (7). Technician: Murat Yakin (7). Substitutions: Steffen (6) for Rodriguez (m. 46); Zechariah (6) by Sow (m. 68); Ndoye (5) by Shaqiri (m. 68); Aebischer (sc) by Vargas (m. 79); Seferovic (sc) by Embolo (m. 87).
GOALS: 0-1 (m. 21), Akanji; 1-1 (m. 55), Jordi Alba; 1-2 (m. 58), Eric García, own goal.
REFEREE: Clement Turpin (5), French.