Japan has broken what until now was a placid stay of Spain in Qatar, where the absence of conflicts, beyond Gayà’s departure due to injury, kept the staff more aware of Luis Enrique’s ‘streaming’ than anything else. Today the debate is already another more football one, because the effectiveness of the team’s game is once again in question. The same style that was praised after the defeat of Costa Rica began to raise doubts just a week later. They are logical dilemmas, because the team repeats a well-known pattern that has not gone very well in recent times. Spain dominates, keeps the ball, but with few exceptions does not bite. In the last World Cup in Russia, he broke the record for passes in the round of 16 match in which he went home, where he only shot once between the three sticks. She was also the best in that section at the Euro Cup last year. There his effectiveness of almost 90% in deliveries allowed him to reach the semifinals and for the fans to get hooked on the team again, but he left there with only one victory in the ninety minutes of regulation (Slovakia. Today he is once again the The team with the most possession, with a huge difference over the second, which is Argentina, but it is beginning to be perceived that ownership of the ball is somewhat sterile.In Euro Spain, it was able to translate its dominance into scoring chances, something that is not happening in Qatar, where it is the eighth in number of shots and the ninth in clear scoring chances.All in all, the seven goals against Costa Rica keep the team as the top scorer in the World Cup along with England, which gives an argument to deny that lack of depth Related News No Soccer standard FIFA comes out of the controversy: for this reason Japan’s Javier Asprón goal was validated No Soccer standard Morata, three goals to emulate Zarra Javier Aspró n Against Japan they once again touched 80 percent control of the game and surpassed a thousand passes. Only Rodri gave 215, which makes him the first player to exceed 200 passes in a World Cup game since there is reliable data. In the first half, things worked, because the pressure from Spain was good and the ball barely lasted for the Asians for a few seconds. Only a couple of defensive errors by Busquets and the usual risks when playing with Unai Simón destabilized a team that, on the other hand, did not force the machine either after Morata’s early goal. That would have been a fantastic plan if it had been repeated in the second half. But then something happened that, despite being foreseeable, surprised Luis Enrique’s boys. Japan desperately went for an equalizer and took control of the match from them. Something similar was seen in the duel against Germany, and then it cost a draw. Against the Japanese it was a defeat because the chaos was still superior. Spain is a great team with the ball at its feet, but it reaches mediocre overtones when it is left at the mercy of the rival. Or as the coach said, when he goes into “collapse mode.” After the comeback, Japan returned to its cave and Spain regained control. But by then the physical and mental strain on the players, who were seen on the plane back home for a while, had taken its toll. Two timid attempts by Olmo and Asensio were the closest they got to a tie. Inaccuracies and losses in midfield also increased. On the other hand, the overflow and the one on one were missing. A corseted team left, another of the characteristics of Luis Enrique’s stage. “Let’s see how I explain that we dominated Japan for 80 minutes and lost,” the Asturian coach told himself and the others at the post-game press conference, where he never managed to relax his expression. “We will try to find solutions,” he repeated. And the “try” thing becomes important, because before Germany work has already been done and analyzed on this loss of control in the zone of creation, the origin of all evils. Perhaps for this reason, because of his confidence in what Busquets, Gavi and Pedri do, he once again trusted them for the eleven against Japan. “These situations are going to happen again,” reflected the coach, aware that the match against Morocco will pose similar challenges. “It’s always difficult to beat a team when they attack you with five or six forwards desperately.” Yesterday the good atmosphere in the team continued during the first training session after the defeat. A soft session in which Azpilicueta and Dani Olmo were absent. Nothing worrisome. There were jokes among the internationals under the watchful eye of Luis Enrique. All of them are clear that they will win or die with the idea that led them to Qatar.
