UEFA Nations League
Luis Enrique’s Spain Reign Off To Winning Start
New Spain manager Luis Enrique got off to a winning start as Spain defeated England at Wembley in the new UEFA Nations League.
Spain had to come from behind, as England took the lead after just ten minutes through Marcus Rashford.
But Enrique’s side responded well and were only behind for two minutes. Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul volleying Spain level from just inside the penalty area.
What proved to be the winning goal came after 32 minutes. A free kick swung in by Thiago found Rodrigo who fired the ball past Jordan Pickford in the England goal from close range.
England pressed for an equalizer and had a goal controversially ruled out in injury time.
Substitute Danny Welbeck was penalized for a foul on David De Gea having rolled the ball into the net.
The contact looked minimal but despite Wellbeck’s and England manager Gareth Southgate’s protests, the goal was disallowed.
Spain held on to make the perfect start under their new manager.
The End Of Tika Taka?
One of the biggest criticisms of Spain during the World Cup in Russia was the slow laborious build up in attack.
Too much of their passing was sideways and often it was possession without a purpose.
Even though it was Luis Enrique’s first game in charge you can already see a difference in the style of play he wants to implement.
Their passing was more direct, much quicker and had a purpose.
In the build up to the game Luis Enrique has been emphasizing that his team needs to play like ‘assassins’. Looking for his side to play that killer pass and be more clinical.
Their equalizer was the epitome of how he wants his side to play. A great driving run from Dani Caravjal found Rodrigo just outside the box.
He crossed a brilliant ball to Saul who volleyed his shot past Pickford.
In just three passes Spain had scored.
At times they even by passed the midfield, with Sergio Ramos trying to pick out Rodrigo up front and set him on goal.
This was something that didn’t happen at the World Cup.
Luis Enrique had great success at Barcelona, where he changed their possession tika taka approach and made them play a more direct, incisive passing style.
The early signs are promising that he can implement that with the Spanish national team. If he does they have the talent to be a major threat in the UEFA Nations League and Euro 2020.
Wake Up Call For England
There was much optimism and a feel good factor for England going into this match. Having exceeded all expectations by reaching the semi-finals at the World Cup.
But this result will be a reality check for England. They still have a lot of work to do to get to the same level as Spain.
However, there are some positives to take out of the game.
England got off to the perfect start with a brilliant team goal. Harry Kane switched the ball out to the left to Luke Shaw. He drove forward and delivered a brilliant ball across the face of goal which was cooly slotted into the net by Marcus Rashford.
Rashford was a threat all night and almost had his second of the night when a header was superbly tipped wide by De Gea.
They pressed forward late on looking for an equalizer and will feel that Danny Welbeck’s goal should have stood.
Defensively though England were suspect in particular at Spain’s second goal. Nobody picked up Rodrigo and they were not alert to the danger.
Also, the 3-5-2 formation didn’t appear to work in the first half. Spain’s full-backs had too much space and time on the ball.
The problem is England don’t appear to have a plan B. That is something that they must address in the future.
Shaw Unlucky Again
The match was overshadowed by a serious looking head knock for England left-back Luke Shaw.
Shaw collided with Dani Caravjal and landed heavily and awkwardly onto the pitch and was carried off on a stretcher.
Thankfully it was reported that he was awake and was okay. If any player deserves some luck it is Luke Shaw.
He has been so unlucky with injuries having broken his leg just a few years ago.
Hopefully he will be okay and fit to play in the next few weeks.
Next up for England is a friendly against Switzerland on Tuesday. Meanwhile Spain face Croatia at home in the UEFA Nations League.
Photo credit to Dickson Dagogo via Flickr
