Just Four Things: Spain Vs. Russia

Toothless Spain Fails To Dent Russian Steel

Russia didn’t look to be threatening Spain from the start. They sat deep and invited pressure to their own box, looking to attack on the break. They applied this approach for the entire 120 minutes. This needed their focus and willpower to be on maximum level. You have to applaud their efforts because they successfully did so. They did well to show solidity to frustrate Spain. But of course all of this would’ve been in vain if they lost the penalty shootout. Thankfully, it did pay off for the host nation and they won the shootout 4-3 largely thanks to Igor Akinfeev’s two heroic saves.

On the other hand, Spain had all that possession, and they transform that into nothing. Their goal even came from an own goal when a free-kick connected with the heel of Sergei Ignasevich as he was going down on the floor after wrestling with Sergio Ramos. Andres Iniesta couldn’t influence the match after being subbed on around the hour mark. They only had a few decent chances and couldn’t do anything after supplying 1000+ passes they exchanged with each other according to OptaJose. Russia can thank Akinfeev that kept out all of Spain’s nine shots on-target that turned out to be crucial to keep Russia alive. And they are still well alive as they march on to the quarter-final.

This Looks Familiar

Spain started off exactly as expected. Keeping possession and being patient in the build-up play to get into Russia’s box. But with all that possession, Spain failed to do anything with it. That is likely in part because of Russia’s defensive system where their back three can turn into a back five. Russia kept a defensive shape and that caused Spain forcing to play sideway passes to get in a better position to provide quality service. Sound familiar?

This was almost exactly how Uruguay frustrated Portugal en route to a 2-1 victory, except Uruguay played a back four with extra cover from their two central midfielders. Russia kept the line tight and pressure the wingers to prevent them from making those incisive passes or going down the flank.. Once they won possession, Russia was looking to catch Spain on the counter-attack, but unlike Uruguay, Russia didn’t have the quality strikers to work hard and be clinical. And unlike Uruguay-Portugal, this ended differently.

Oh, De Gea…

David De Gea before the tournament was lauded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. But he exited this tournament with a huge blemish to his stellar career thanks to this statistic: Out of seven shots on-target he faced in this tournament, he only saved one.

Although De Gea will feel crestfallen when he look excruciating close to keep at least Russia’s two penalties during the shootout. Still, the stat is alarmingly unnerving for a keeper of De Gea’s caliber. The whole of Spain will ask questions about this team and one of them is this: Where was the De Gea that performed so brilliantly with Manchester United? He failed to replicate his amazing form for country.

Pique (PK) Giveaway

Although in Spain’s perspective, none of this would have happened if a certain Barcelona defender kept his hands down. A Russian corner comes swinging in and Artem Dzyuba won the header. But Gerard Pique for some reason hasn’t lowered his hand down when he attempted to win the header and the referee Bjorn Kuipers awarded the penalty.

Dzyuba stepped up and sent De Gea the wrong way to equalize against the run of play. Russia was forced to chase the game when they trailed, but after that equalizer, they resumed their approach. Always remember when going into an aerial battle: Do your best to keep your hands down.

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Date : July 7, 2018 (Saturday)

Time : 10:00AM

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