The team made more than 4000 passes in the tournament — the highest of any team — but that didn’t translate into meaningful openings, especially against such a solid defence. Maroc‘S. TOI looks at what happened to the 2010 champions.
OVER RESPONSIBILITY ON A MODEL WITHOUT KEY COMPONENTS
Tiki-taka is all about ball control, but the supreme priest of this system – Pep Guardiola – has always had incredible scoring machines in all his teams. It’s a Leo Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Villa during their Barcelona days, Robert lewandowski at Bayern Munich and at Man City, it happened Sergio Agüero, Gabriel Jesus and now Erling Haaland. Even Luis Enrique – when he won the treble with the system for Barcelona – there was Messi, Luis Surarez and Neymar is his trio of strikers. But now after taking over as the Spaniard, en-rico Adamant about the no-quality striker system and Plan B. His only true No. 9, Alvaro Morata, despite scoring three times in the World Cup, was brought on late on Tuesday. .
Real Betis’ Borja Iglesias — a regular La Liga goalscorer with eight goals from 13 this season — was left out because it didn’t suit Enrique’s passing style. Celta Vigo’s Iago Aspas, another quality finisher, is considered past his prime. Not even Feran Jugtala, a La Masia product that is having an explosive season for Club Brugge, did not make the list. That meant Spain had to play cross passes from wing to wing and the Moroccan defense had to deal with almost no dogfights. They knew they could survive if they could close the gap between the rows and they did it comfortably, not allowing Pedri & Co space to work their passing magic. That has kept Morocco from conceding a goal since August and is playing with incredible confidence.
FREE WATCH PLAYERS WITH THE WINNING MENTION
Sergio Ramos has given his all to be able to play for PSG this season and has not missed a game, except for an odd red card. Ramos is an inspirational leader and knows what it takes to win. Add to that his ability to score important goals, both from headers and penalties. Enrique chose to stick with an Eric Garcia who couldn’t play and looked down on Ramos. That means Rodri, originally a defensive midfielder, has to be used as a defender. He is not allowed to go forward and assist in attack, which he does quite effectively for Manchester City.
An option like Lukas Vazquez, who partnered at right-back and right-back for European champions Real Madrid, was not considered. And Dani Carvajal and Cesar Azpilicueta – who have six Champions League medals – were forced to sit out in the knockout stages. The possibility of Carvajal playing a late-game killer winger for Madrid in the late stages of the game was well-documented, but that didn’t affect Enrique much.
OVERVIEW, WHO?
After Tuesday’s loss, Enrique asked journalists about Moroccan midfielder Azzedine Ounahi. “God, where did this person come from?” Enrique asked, making it clear he didn’t know of an influential opposition player in today’s data analytics age. Even at the start of the tiebreak, he wrote only three names and asked Busquets to find the others. In the shootout he was seen sitting alone in a dugout – perhaps not the best body language for a coach in a game of this caliber. “This is not the time when I want to go home and see my dogs,” Enrqiue said when asked about her future. He may still have the backing of the federation with a year and a half to go to the Euros, but it could be his last chance.
SPAIN WILL PENALTY FAILURE
England’s defeat in draws has been a consistent source of memes, but Spain is no less. Including Tuesday’s loss to Morocco, Spain have now lost four of the five draws they have faced in the World Cup, their only win coming against Ireland in the 2002 Round of 16. Enrique’s homework’ for every player’s 1000 penalties before the World Cup didn’t work.
1986 quarter-final against Belgium: Under Emiliano Butragueno, Spain looked very strong until they met Belgium in the round of eight. Spain were eliminated 5-4 in the tiebreak after the match ended 1-1
2002 quarter-final match against South Korea: After beating Ireland in a draw, Spain, with Enrique as a key member, were forced into a penalty shootout by hosts South Korea after a goalless draw. Joaquin missed in the tie-break and Iker Casillas failed to save any of the Korean penalties.
Round of 16, 2018 against Russia: After drawing 1-1 in a match like Spain’s against Morocco on Tuesday, La Roja lost to the hosts to a draw as Koke and Iago Aspas missed shots.
Round of 16 2022 team to Morocco: Spain failed to concede a single penalty with Sarabia, Busquets and Soler all failing. by Seville Yassin Bounou in Morocco’s goal at the start of his game made it all the more difficult.
