Spain vs Russia: 3 reasons why Spain got knocked out

Sripad
FBL-WC-2018-MATCH51-ESP-RUS
FBL-WC-2018-MATCH51-ESP-RUS

#1 Bringing on Rodrigo too late

FBL-WC-2018-MATCH51-ESP-RUS
FBL-WC-2018-MATCH51-ESP-RUS

When things were not going their way, Spain should have thought differently. They brought on Iniesta, Carvajal and Aspas as substitutes in the first 90 minutes and only decided to bring on Rodrigo in extra time.

In his 15-minute appearance, the Valencia striker did a lot more than what Aspas did after coming on in the 80th minute. Had Hierro decided to bring Rodrigo instead of Aspas, things might have ended differently.

The 27-year-old created a crazy chance for himself and almost scored. Had to not been for Igor Akinfeev's brilliant save, it would have been 2-1 to Spain and the 2010 champions would have been on their way to the quarter-finals instead of Madrid.

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Edited by Sripad
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