Yesterday evening Louis van Gaal's rampant Oranje plundered five goals past a hapless Spain side in a game which nobody could have predicted. Least of all me -- in my preview I had a plumped for a close game; a cagey game; a game with a low number of goals. 2-0 Spain was my guess -- and I couldn't have been more wrong.
Although, the fact remains that I did in fact pose some pertinent tactical question of the Spain side which looked to have been answered. So, let's take a look:
'Does Del Bosque stick with his solid double-pivot?'
Yes. Well at least up until the 63rd minute when Xabi Alonso was replaced by Pedro -- who filled in on the left wing, allowing Iniesta to move into the number 10 position. At this point La Roja were only 2-1 down to the Dutch side and this did not improve much from this point onwards -- in fact it was arguably worse. Although Spain's defenders (particularly Sergio Ramos) and goalkeeper Iker Casillas were largely to blame for the 3 goals conceded subsequently; Alonso’s presence could have helped Sergio Busquets to shield Spain’s back four against the dual-pronged Dutch attack. But prior to this point Alonso had little impact on the game aside from his 27th minute equaliser from the penalty spot.
‘Does Xavi have the legs to play number 10 at 35?’
Maybe not. Although this possibly looks like the best solution if he continues to start for the national side. Whilst he may have completed the most passes of any player on the pitch, he failed to pick up the ball in any meaningful space and look for an incisive pass. This role was predominantly played by his teammate, Andres Iniesta, who continually drifted inside from his left-wing station to become more involved in the play. If he had started in this position from the outset then we may have seen more sumptuous through-balls like the wonderful disguised pass he played to David Silva -- who promptly fluffed his lines in a chance which would have tipped the game in Spain’s favour. It will surely give Del Bosque a headache for Spain’s remaining games although choosing between Messrs Xavi and Iniesta is a decision every coach would love to be faced with.
‘Can Spain deal with counter-attacks?’
No. No they can’t.
 |
| Spain vs Netherlands: player ratings |
But a big question posed after this match concerns the opposite side: Should the Netherlands be considered contenders? Louis van Gaal appears to have transformed this team into a ruthless counter-attacking machine with a solid defence. van Persie and Robben formed a perilous partnership against the Spanish. Daley Blind -- who provided the assists for van Persie’s and Robben’s respective first goals -- could prove to be one of the stars of the tournament if keeps supplying the Dutch frontline with spectacular long-balls like he did last night. But while the Dutch back-five and front-two are a cause to be reckoned with, the midfield three (de Jong, de Guzman and Sneijder just ahead) need to play better if they expect to challenge. Sneijder fired straight at Casillas when put through on goal, furthermore, he failed to deliver the defence-splitting through passes we have come to expect from him. The midfield pivot of de Jong and de Guzman are solid and workmanlike but need to be more creative.
Summary
Fair result? Yes,very.
Hero: van Persie.
Villain: Casillas.
Surprise star: Blind
No comments:
Post a Comment