Spain will be looking to answer their detractors when they face Chile in the second round of group matches in Group B at the FIFA World Cup 2014. The match will be played at the Maracana stadium in Rio on Wednesday, June 18.
Spain suffered a thrashing at the hands of Netherlands in their group opener as they were well beaten by a score of 5-1. While Xabi Alonso did put the La Roja ahead with a well taken spot kick, the defense crumbled as the likes of Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique could not keep up with the skill and the pace of Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie.
Also, coach Vicente Del Bosque’s tactic of sticking to the old guard quite clearly did not pay any dividends. Spain were slow in their passing and build-up and rarely threatened Holland. They were too one-dimensional in their approach and some ageing legs which are tired from one hectic season of European club football let them down in a big way.
Xavi for instance has been the bench mark at Barcelona for a while now. However, he had a poor season by his standards and yet, Del Bosque chose to put him in the starting XI ahead of bright young Koke, a man who has long been destined to claim Xavi’s spot in the Spanish starting XI. Even Andres Iniesta started to look out of depth at times while the defensive unit totally crumbled under pressure.
The lack of games for skipper Iker Casillas at club level with Real Madrid looks to have started to affect his game.
Casillas was at fault for at least a couple of goals even if one were to give him the benefit of doubt for Netherland’s opener the other day. Spain need to inject pace in their play. Pass and move still works and works well provided it is done quickly and the team press hard enough to reclaim the ball swiftly after losing it.
Chile on the other hand are placed second in their group and will be looking to cause an upset as the Spanish camp continue to be vulnerable in the aftermath of their disastrous start to the campaign. The likes of Alexis Sanchez, Arturo Vidal, Eduardo Vargas, and Jorge Valdivia would be looking to do the things that brought the Chileans success against the Socceroos the other night.
However, the players will need to realize that Spain will be a totally different proposition to Australia and the mistakes that went unpunished the other day will come back to bite them should they commit the same mistakes against the world champions.
Also, Chile must be looking to play proper center backs against Spain. The tactic of playing Gary Medel and Gonzalo Jara at the center of defence simply will not work against a team of Spain’s pedigree.