Spain recovers its engine room on time

The Spanish team qualified this Thursday for the round of 16 of the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada after beating Austria (3-0), in what has so far been its best match in the competition, with more fluid and vertical football than in the three group stage matches, with a great version of Pedri González, Rodrigo Hernández and Dani Olmo.

The Spanish fans had to wait four games to enjoy the game that had characterized the ‘Roja’ in the last two years. The European champion had started the World Cup in a hesitant manner. Despite the first position achieved in Group H, with victories against Saudi Arabia (4-0) and Uruguay (1-0) and a draw against Cape Verde (0-0), the game of Luis de la Fuente’s pupils could, to say the least, be improved.

The lack of speed and little verticality was the trend throughout the first phase, especially against Cape Verde and Uruguay. Bad game that focused the criticism on the figures of Pedri and Rodri, both less clairvoyant than usual and with a feeling of fatigue in their legs. Furthermore, De la Fuente was not finding his player in the midfield, opting for Pedri, in his debut, Dani Olmo, against Saudi Arabia, and Mikel Merino, against Uruguay, who shared the minutes.

But in the first key moment of the tournament, in the first life or death match, the Spanish midfield was greased again. Rodri, Pedri and Olmo were the three chosen to catalyze Spanish football against Austria, and the result could not have been better. The City midfielder was the pivot that dazzled in the Euro Cup, the Canarian set the pace of the game and ended up driving his rivals crazy, unable to stop him and detect him, and the ’10’ provided the verticality that the team had suffered from.

Pedri and Rodri were present in 194 actions with the ball during the match, with a passing success rate close to 90 percent in the case of both – 65 of 73 in the case of Pedri and 85 of 92 in that of Rodri – for a total of only 21 losses. A key aspect for the Spanish team, since errors in ball release had caused the only defensive complications for the defense in the first three games of the tournament.

Furthermore, they were notable in their pressure, smothering Ralf Rangnick’s attempts to get the ball out from behind. Thus, Rodri would recover up to six balls compared to Pedri’s four. Remarkable defensive numbers that were complemented with 12 duels won out of the 14 they played. Although perhaps the data that best explains the good physical condition of both are the 16 sprints they performed, according to ‘SofaScore’ data.

As for the last third of the field, Pedri’s clarity in finding the last or penultimate pass, as occurred in Mikel Oyarzabal’s first goal, was joined by a great version of Dani Olmo. The one from Terrassa had been the playmaker who had left the best feelings in the group stage, and he confirmed them against Austria despite not participating in the resolution – goal or assist – of any of the three goals.

His ability to play in small spaces and turn adapted perfectly to the match with little space between the lines that Austria presented. The Spanish players found the FC Barcelona player up to 40 times in the 70 minutes he was on the pitch, in which he finished on goal three times and created two chances. But beyond the numbers, it allowed Spain to have a link between the double pivot and the offensive trident, giving Mikel Oyarzabal more freedom of movement.

Now, the Spanish midfield has to show that the match against the Austrians was not a mirage, and that it is capable of prolonging it for the remainder of the tournament. The next test, one of the most demanding, against Roberto Martínez’s Portugal, which if it stands out for anything, is for a carat core with talents such as Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes, Bernando Silva and Joao Neves. Furthermore, the last precedent between the two ended with the Portuguese lifting the League of Nations.