Five things that went wrong for Spain during the World Cup

Spanish fans were drowned deep in melancholy when Spain, the former World Champions, were knocked out of the World Cup after their second consecutive defeat in the tournament. They first lost to the Netherlands in their opening match then it was Chile who stroked the final nail in the coffin by defeating La Rojas 2-0, and hence bringing an end to an era of their undisputed dominance.Spain conceded seven goals in two matches and scored only one – a penalty kick. They never looked strong when they attacked high up the pitch and were fragile in defending. But what went wrong for a team which once mesmerized the world with their beautiful passing football game?

#1 Off the ball movement

Spains off the ball movement in both matches was almost negligible. They almost never troubled the opponents despite the fact they had more possession. Their quick movement off the ball and pressing relentlessly were their best traits in the 2010 World Cup, but in Brazil it felt as if they were devoid of these qualities.

Instead, it was the Netherlands and Chile who pressed and pressurized Spain players whenever they had the ball, forcing Spanish players to commit mistakes and eventually making them lose possession. If you might have noticed, Chiles first goal was a result of their high intensity pressing which forced Xabi Alonso to lose the ball to Aranguizand after a fewquick passes, they scored past Casillas.

#2 Iker Casillass appalling performance

The tournament has proved out to be a nightmare for the Spanish goalkeeper. He committed many blunders and put in terrible performances in both games. The unbeatable Casillas, whom the world once knew, was nowhere to seen. In fact, Spain would have conceded less had De Gea (unfortunately injured) been their keeper instead of Casillas.

He was solely responsible for Robin van Persie’s second goal; he was clumsy when he received the back pass and it was his bad touch that allowed Van Persie to sneak past a goal. Also, against Chile it was his inability to clear the free kick that lead to the second goal, thus virtually ending Spain’s World cup campaign.His season at Real Madrid was largely responsible for his dreadful performance in the World Cup. He started out in 15 matches for Real Madrid and thus lacked enough match practice to be in his best form for the World Cup. Even Oliver Kahn commented that his body language suggests that Casillas is not 100% ready.

“There’s a sensation that Iker isn’t at a hundred per cent, he’s not fully present, it’s something that shows in all of his body language.”

#3 Poor defending

Casillas cannot be solely blamed for Spain’s crashing exit out of the world cup; the defenders in front of him also hold an equal share in Spain’s dreadful performance.

The Spanish defence boasted of having the likes of Gerard Pique and Sergio Ramos, but both failed to deliver their best when it mattered most. They made a fool of themselves out on the pitch against the Oranje. The Dutch constantly bombarded the Spanish box with long aerial passes; both Pique and Ramos looked weak in dealing with them. To worsen their problem the Dutch constantly launched counter attacks rendering both of them in helpless situations.

In the match against Chile, Del Bosque replaced Pique with Martinez to stabilize his backline, but that didn’t change the situation much.

Chile’s first goal exposed the vulnerability Spain’s backline has to counter attacks once again. Isla dragged Ramos and Martinez out of their positions creating space in the middle for Aranguiz and Vargas. Isla then passed the ball to Sanchez, who quickly without making too many touches passed to Aranguiz who sneaked the ball to Vargas and Vargas finally shot the ball into the back of the net, giving Chile their opening goal and a 1-0 lead over La Rojas.

#4 No Space for the Spanish midfield

Chile and Netherlands both played with a 5 man defence with 3 players up in the midfield. The midfield and defensive line were kept close to each other, thus giving Spanish midfielders no space to move the ball.

In both the matches, Spain’s opponents defended deep, giving the Spanish midfielders no room to create any opening towards the goal. Chile pressed Spain every time they had the ball so Spanish players had no option other than to quickly pass the ball, making them prone to committing mistakes.

Because of Chile’s high pressing, Spain often lost possession giving Chile an opportunity to launch counter attacks.

#5 Failure to utilize Diego Costa\'s abilities

After a stupendous season for Atletico, Diego Costa became Spain’s first choice striker replacing the out of form Fernando Torres. But both the games showed that he failed to fit into Del Bosque’s tactics.

Costa was not accustomed to Spain’s tiki- taka style of play. He was unable to move around and create space, maybe if he been provided with long balls then surely he might had been more dangerous. But Spain kept playing short passes, thus not utilizing one of his major strengths.