WC-MOTD7
Day 7:-
Spain vs. Chile:-
It is probably quite fitting that, on the same day on which Spain's King Juan Carlos officially abdicated his throne, the 2010 WC champions decided to pass-on the crown!
Coach Vicente Del Bosque’s promised changes were in the shape of drafting in natural DM Javi Martínez into the CB position alongside Sergio Ramos, as well as including Pedro instead of Xavi as Spain looked to add an element of real pace and width to their play.
If Spain’s first game against the Netherlands was a close repeat of Barcelona’s 2013 CL semi-final against FC Bayern, then this game was a proper “encore” of this year’s CL quarter-final between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid!
The game began with Chile applying extreme amounts of pressure on Spain, often catching them off-guard with aggressiveness and real physical challenges (we spoke about that in our Spanish team profile!).
Chile’s high-press approach worked wonders as it really disrupted Spain’s passing rhythm; even if the Chileans weren’t holding onto the ball properly when regaining possession.
It didn’t take that long for Chile’s pressure to pay off as Xabi Alonso was forced to produce a sluggish backwards pass on which Chile capitalized quickly for Alexis Sánchez to quickly dart through Spain’s box and lay it on to Vargas who beautifully rounded off Casillas for a 1-0 lead.
That first goal did not stop Chile from continuing their pressure on Spain in almost all areas of the pitch; with the Spanish players not able to produce a sequence of more than 10 consecutive passes.
Spain were unable to hold onto possession for most of the first half, while Chile were committing to a highly disciplined tactical set-up where they limited open spaces as much as possible.
Chile’s second goal following a free-kick from just outside the box drew the curtain on the first half; Spain being pretty static in their play with no real urgency going forward and a proper lack of chemistry between all of their players as well as a poor passing rhythm. Chile’s high-press game was very impressive and their great positional play helped them take advantage of every Spanish mistake.
The second half saw Chile become more compact at the back and focus more on playing on the counter, while Spain began to apply more pressure way high up the pitch.
It mattered little as Chile’s aggressive manner limited Spain to very few chances on goal and saw the quality of their passing take a nose-dive. From there on in, Spain never looked like they were going to score a goal even if the game was extended for another 90 minutes!
Collectively AND individually, it was a pretty poor display of football from Spain; they were out of ideas, constantly wasting possession, devoid of any attacking threat and had almost no spirit. Chile, on the other hand, executed a great game plan and were superior technically and tactically! Their great defensive strategy and wonderful technique up front saw them send the WC holders back home.
Man of the match: Alexis Sánchez: He was the heartbeat of Chile’s attack, constantly running at Spanish defenders and creating all sorts of problems for them. A great performance all in all.
Spain vs. Chile:-
It is probably quite fitting that, on the same day on which Spain's King Juan Carlos officially abdicated his throne, the 2010 WC champions decided to pass-on the crown!
Coach Vicente Del Bosque’s promised changes were in the shape of drafting in natural DM Javi Martínez into the CB position alongside Sergio Ramos, as well as including Pedro instead of Xavi as Spain looked to add an element of real pace and width to their play.
If Spain’s first game against the Netherlands was a close repeat of Barcelona’s 2013 CL semi-final against FC Bayern, then this game was a proper “encore” of this year’s CL quarter-final between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid!
The game began with Chile applying extreme amounts of pressure on Spain, often catching them off-guard with aggressiveness and real physical challenges (we spoke about that in our Spanish team profile!).
Chile’s high-press approach worked wonders as it really disrupted Spain’s passing rhythm; even if the Chileans weren’t holding onto the ball properly when regaining possession.
It didn’t take that long for Chile’s pressure to pay off as Xabi Alonso was forced to produce a sluggish backwards pass on which Chile capitalized quickly for Alexis Sánchez to quickly dart through Spain’s box and lay it on to Vargas who beautifully rounded off Casillas for a 1-0 lead.
That first goal did not stop Chile from continuing their pressure on Spain in almost all areas of the pitch; with the Spanish players not able to produce a sequence of more than 10 consecutive passes.
Spain were unable to hold onto possession for most of the first half, while Chile were committing to a highly disciplined tactical set-up where they limited open spaces as much as possible.
Chile’s second goal following a free-kick from just outside the box drew the curtain on the first half; Spain being pretty static in their play with no real urgency going forward and a proper lack of chemistry between all of their players as well as a poor passing rhythm. Chile’s high-press game was very impressive and their great positional play helped them take advantage of every Spanish mistake.
The second half saw Chile become more compact at the back and focus more on playing on the counter, while Spain began to apply more pressure way high up the pitch.
It mattered little as Chile’s aggressive manner limited Spain to very few chances on goal and saw the quality of their passing take a nose-dive. From there on in, Spain never looked like they were going to score a goal even if the game was extended for another 90 minutes!
Collectively AND individually, it was a pretty poor display of football from Spain; they were out of ideas, constantly wasting possession, devoid of any attacking threat and had almost no spirit. Chile, on the other hand, executed a great game plan and were superior technically and tactically! Their great defensive strategy and wonderful technique up front saw them send the WC holders back home.
Man of the match: Alexis Sánchez: He was the heartbeat of Chile’s attack, constantly running at Spanish defenders and creating all sorts of problems for them. A great performance all in all.
Ahmad Al-Omar - 18. Jun, 23:02
