Spain 4-1 Wales: 5 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis

Spain had an arguably easy outing against Wales as they scored thrice in the first half to settle the proceedings in the early stages of the game. A brace from Paco Alcacer, coupled with goals from Sergio Ramos and Marc Bartra meant that Luis Enrique’s team led by four goals until Sam Vokes notched a consolation goal in the 89th minute.

Ryan Giggs’ side has a lot to learn from this match where they were dismantled by a Spaniard side, which did not even play their full-strength XI. Here, are the five major talking points and tactical analysis from the match.

#5: Spain seize early control through tactical variations

The Spanish side under the tutelage of Luis Enrique has shown more tactical variations and patterns of play than the one that was playing in the World Cup a few months ago. Despite not lining up his full-strength side, Enrique embedded his team with a specific pattern that could be associated with the Spanish sides of the past.

His team maintained possession and pressed the opponents in a structured way to recover the possession. From there on, they controlled the game and frustrated the Welshmen with a patient style of play.

They switched the play, formed passing triangles to move the ball up in wider areas and even Alvaro Morata dropped deeper to collect and run ahead with the ball. However, the uniqueness about this Spanish side is that they aren’t afraid to try out a different tactic if the initial plan does not materialize.

When they realized quite early on that Ethan Ampadu and Joe Allen were providing decent cover, the midfielders worked the ball to Suso on the right wing. The winger, from just his second cross in the opening seven minutes effectively found Jose Gaya inside the box.

The Valencia left-back laid the ball and Paco Alcacer absolutely buried the ball at the top corner to gain an early lead.

The Spaniards were keen to look out for other options to gain a control over the score line and hence Suso undertook a more direct approach to mix things up and destabilize a comfortable looking Welsh backline. Accordingly, the Spaniards went ahead quite early in the match.

#4: Wales’ backline creates absolute chaos; properly exposed

Ashley Williams had a disappointing outing

Wales lined up with a 3-4-2-1 with the two wingbacks looking to provide more defensive cover to the backline. However, there was absolute lack of cohesion and communication at the back as the Spaniards easily scored their equalizer through a well-taken header from captain Sergio Ramos.

The free kick from some yards outside the box was delivered perfectly to Ramos, who nodded the ball in without any resistance from the Welsh defenders. Ashley Williams was marking Alvaro Morata and Ramos was left unmarked despite the known fact that the centre-back is a major aerial threat from such situations.

The only other player defending from the set-piece was Aaron Ramsey, who himself did not do anything to prevent this situation. Wayne Hennessey cut out a frustrated figure too as none of the players from Giggs’ side were vocal enough to arrange the backline in set-pieces.

Ben Davies, who is quite tall could have been the one marking Ramos but the Tottenham Hotspur defender was not doing so. This lack of arrangement is a worrying factor as plugging the gaps during free-kicks and corners should have been one of the priorities ahead of this fixture.

Ramos doubled the lead very easily and Spain gained a complete control over the proceedings. Alcacer yet again scored in the 28th minute when he was unmarked inside the box as he pounced on the loose ball and none of the Welsh defenders were aware enough to close him down.

Suso’s lateral deliveries certainly added a new, exciting element to Spain’s pattern of play and they managed to expose Wales’ fragilities at the centre of defence.

#3: Spain neutralize Wales’ directness

Vokes could not run behind the Spanish backline

When the Spanish midfielders troubled Wales through their extensively long stretches of possession play, Giggs’ side had no option but to try to recover the possession through the press or wait for a defender to intercept the ball and then build from the back.

Ashley Williams’ defensive abilities have waned away to an extent but his ball-playing skills are still intact as such. He shifted the ball to the flanks with some good passes and Ampadu drove ahead through the centre very well.

However, the inability to deal with the press applied by the Spanish midfielders meant that the Welsh team could never attain a sustained period of dominance on the attacking front. The presence of Harry Wilson surely added some more drive centrally as the Derby County attacking midfielder ran directly at the Spanish defenders and tried to create some instability in Enrique’s backline.

He drifted out wide and earned a free kick as Ramos lethargically fouled him from a promising free-kick taking position. Wilson was always on the move, directly picking out the wingbacks or trying to play one-twos with Ramsey. However, none of the sparse attacking moves materialized into something productive and Giggs definitely needs to work a lot on every minute aspect of his team’s style of play.

They weren’t helped with Gareth Bale’s absence either as the Real Madrid forward inducts an incisive sharpness in the frontline, which was sorely lacking yesterday. Sam Vokes was quite slow to run behind the Spanish backline and Ramos had his work sorted against the Burnley forward.

Vokes’ limited abilities meant that this Welsh side was unable to connect the final dot in their style of play and hence failed to score until the dying embers of the game. Ramsey dropped deeper, drifted wider and tried to break the Spanish defence centrally through some slick passes too.

However, they were unable to decipher another style of play like Spain did through Suso and hence they become much more predictable and easier to handle for Enrique’s side eventually.

#2: Spain score yet another header; Vokes pulls one back amid substitutions

Both teams made several changes at halftime to ensure that the fringe players got an opportunity on the field. Moreover, as this international break is scheduled between a set of busy club fixtures, the players require adequate rest to sustain the pressure of playing at the top-flight throughout the course of the season.

However, though Enrique made some substitutions at halftime and in the second half, their style of play wasn’t bothered at all. The Spaniards continued to dominate with possession, moving the ball patiently and looking to stretch play before attacking at the gaps created in the opposition’s midfield and backline.

They coupled their smart possession-based play with an occasional element of directness and thus ensured that they were never predictable like their counterparts.

Moreover, the Welsh team could not come up with a unique idea to break this possession-dominated style and hence succumbed to the pressure created through an incessant spell of dominance from the Spaniards.

Marc Batra scored through a header to register the fourth goal and that provided a clear picture of how the overall game had evolved over the first 70 minutes. The Spaniards were undeterred and a change in personnel didn’t affect their outlook and implementation of the ideas inducted by the manager.

Sam Vokes scored a header via a cross in the 89th minute, but it was way too late and the damage was already inflicted by the Spaniards.

#1: Both managers have contrasting notes to take from the game

Luis Enrique and Ryan Giggs have taken over their respective national teams quite recently but the difference in the impact created by both the managers is quite visible. Giggs surely has been unlucky with a seemingly weaker roster at his disposal.

His vision to provide opportunities to the likes of Ampadu and Wilson is very promising and indicates that Giggs has a definite plan for the national team going ahead. Bale’s presence could have helped them in certain aspects but the team should arguably be well adept in dealing with the absence of one of their players.

Currently, the Welsh side needs a lot of polishing and unique ideas to proceed further in an upcoming couple of years. Their gameplay was predictable and bland of creativity at times yesterday and this needs to be changed if they were to emulate their success from the Euro 2016.

Giggs still has to work on various aspects, team selection process and different approaches to attack during the match. Enrique surely had a much more talented and experienced lot of players, but his impact has been visible and refreshing after a disappointing World Cup campaign for the Spaniards.

The former Barcelona and AS Roma manager has embroiled his team with exciting ideas on the pitch. He has ensured that they stick to the legacy of growing into the game through large chunks of possession.

However, Enrique hasn’t been afraid of trying out a more direct, viable approach if the initial plan fails to work. Spain’s loss to Russia in the World Cup 2018 was evidence to the fact that lack of a Plan B could be troublesome if the opposition figures out your primary plan in any game.

Enrique achieved immense success at Barcelona and even there, he didn’t refrain from shaking things up and undertaking a different outlook towards the game at times. The promising signs in Spain’s setup need to be converted into major trophies and Enrique might be the ideal manager to do so.

Send us news tips at [email protected]

Edited by Nishant Jayaram