For Spain, when the final whistle blew against the team ranked 67th in the FIFA world rankings, there was a look of both confusion and fleeting dejection. This result was far from terminal. Wins against both Uruguay and Saudi Arabia in their other two group matches will almost certainly see Spain top the group, and secure what, in theory, is the most straightforward route to the final. This is a talented Saudi Arabia team, but with a fully fit Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams raring to go, it shouldn’t be a problem. Uruguay have quality, but gone are the days they could boast the likes of Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani and Diego Godin. There will be no panic in the Spain camp, not yet anyway. However, this performance and result did emphasise two things which we probably already knew.
Firstly, not having Yamal in your team is, shockingly, not ideal. Not only are they without his outrageous ability, but when he, and Nico Williams for that matter, are absent, Spain have to completely alter their game plan. They quickly lose that speed and dynamism in their play.
Secondly, having achieved complete domination from 2008-2012, winning back-to-back Euros, as well as a first-ever World Cup in between those successes, they completely lost that cutting edge and became incredibly boring to watch. It felt like they were determined to master the infamous horseshoe shape in attack; constant sideways passing but with no focal point and lacking that guile they had from those previous victories. They became predictable and easy to play against.
It really seemed to come to a head, and they almost became a caricature of themselves at the 2018 World Cup when they were beaten by hosts Russia on penalties. It honestly felt like each player played at least 200 passes each, but at no point did they ever truly look like they were going to score a goal. There were echoes of this in the goalless draw with Cape Verde. Yes, the ‘Blue Sharks’ never went hunting for the ball, and were forced to sit deep and soak up pressure, but that was always going to be the case. This match was a classic in the sense that the stats would suggest that Spain thoroughly dominated this match, but they never truly tested the veteran goalkeeper Vozinha in the Cape Verde goal. We’ve seen this game so many times before.
It will be a worry for Spain. There are better teams than Cape Verde that will be willing to adopt the same tactics against Luis de la Fuente’s side. Maybe it’s as simple as Yamal and Williams are restored to the starting XI, and all these concerns dissipate, but that’s no guarantee either, or both can just pick up where they left off in the Euros in Germany in 2024. Obviously, Yamal is a one-in-a-million talent, but he’s only just returning to fitness, and Williams is coming off the back of a fairly underwhelming campaign for Athletic Club, albeit with injuries not helping.
Assuming both Yamal and Williams come back into the team and perform to similar levels they managed in the last Euros, then that gives this Spanish team a whole other dimension. Just the introduction of Yamal against Cape Verde created a sense of panic. Simply having the option to go wide on either side at all times and stretch the play changes the complexity of the game entirely. Without one or both of their wide men available, it tends to be that Spain look to add even more control into the game, often slotting an additional midfielder into the team, and emphasises this ‘horseshoe effect’. Simply put, no Yamal in this Spanish team means they have no chance of winning this World Cup.
An underrated issue for this Spanish side could be the absence of Álvaro Morata from the squad. Clearly, he’s not been the most prolific goalscorer in his career, and he has just come off the back of a pretty underwhelming campaign in Serie A with Como. Despite this, one of his biggest strengths over the years has been his ability to bring the best out of teammates.
His work rate and off-the-ball running were hugely beneficial to Yamal and Williams at the Euros and helped create space for the wingers. Also, with Yamal and Williams both in the team, defenders are forced to get tighter when they’re in possession, creating even more space. Yes, Ferran Torres is happy to make off-the-ball runs too, but they’re not quite as subtle as Morata. As I said, it is only one game so there’s really no reason to be panicking just yet. Plenty of teams have started slowly and gone on to win the competition (Spain themselves in 2010, or Argentina in 2022).
The last point I’ll make on this is very much an intangible, but it matters. Morata was/is very much loved in the dressing room. We’ve seen Thomas Tuchel select and defend an ageing Jordan Henderson from the moment he took the reins with England, something which had left me scratching my head. I think it’s safe to say that, while I’m sure Henderson will manage to accumulate a few minutes at this tournament, he hasn’t really been selected for his footballing ability. The players like him, so he’s the vibes guy.
Has de la Fuente missed a trick by not selecting Morata for the very same reason? Fans will bicker about the 25th or 26th players selected in World Cup squads, whereas in reality it’s unlikely they’ll get any game time anyway, so getting in a vibes-man probably makes more sense.
Nothing to worry about for Spain just yet, and with fixtures against Uruguay and Saudi Arabia still to come, they’ll be absolutely fine.
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