Spain spent almost a month based in Chattanooga before the World Cup but will not return, their social account posting, “How we’re going to miss this place,” alongside a photo of the squad on the Baylor School training field, according to ESPN. The team will fly to Los Angeles and stay in nearby Long Beach ahead of Thursday’s round-of-32 match with Austria, with a tournament route that could see them travel between Los Angeles and Dallas for the knockout rounds, ESPN reported.
Despite finishing as Group H winners, Spain’s displays against Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay prompted questions about the side and coach Luis de la Fuente, according to ESPN. Concerns have centered largely on the spine of the team and how its midfield roles have been deployed at the tournament.
Spain’s 21st-century identity has been built on midfield play, from Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso and Xavi to the recent Euro-winning trio of Rodri, Fabián Ruiz and Pedri, ESPN notes. At this World Cup, however, Pedri began in a more advanced role than the deeper position where he has excelled for Barcelona. Ruiz has since dropped out of the starting XI to accommodate Pedri alongside Rodri. Ruiz told ESPN the group is united and ready to adapt to the coach’s decisions.
Rodri — called “the best player in the world” repeatedly by De la Fuente — has been criticized for a sluggish look, according to ESPN. In the group stage he completed a team-high 328 passes with a 93.7% pass completion rate, but only 11.9% of those were progressive passes. ESPN cited comparative progressive-pass rates of 15.9% for Portugal’s Vitinha, 19.6% for Switzerland’s Granit Xhaka and 16.3% for Croatia’s Luka Modric.
De la Fuente described the Uruguay game as difficult and lacking rhythm, and teammate Marcos Llorente agreed, ESPN reported. Dani Olmo started only once in the group stage, in the 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia, while Mikel Merino completed 19 passes in 60 minutes against Uruguay with no chances created and no shots. Spain arrived with four wingers — Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, Yéremy Pino and Víctor Muñoz — but by the end of the group stage only Yamal remained available, with Muñoz yet to feature after a muscular training injury, according to ESPN.
