of the Euro 2008 qualifiers.
It was possibly the worst game SFS has seen of a Spanish
National team in a long time, independently that Spain
played with only 10 men after Xavi Alonso was given a
direct RED CARD in the 20th minute.
No scheme of play, no midfield & basically no idea. It
was embarrasing to watch how Spain played. Iceland
got ahead in the 40th min thanks to a header by
HALLFREDSSON & Spain was looking at the abyss.
In the 2nd half , Spain played worst than in the 1º half
& Spanish coach Aragones changed Torres for INIESTA,
who in the 86th min scored the equalizer to draw the
game. It was god sent & saved the shame of saying goodbye
the the Euro competition.
Luck was on Spain´s side as Sweden & Denmark finished
in a 0-0 draw & Latvia won 1-0 Northern Ireland, to maintain
a glimmer of hope that Spain can still be able to qualify.
Spain is currently 2º placed in Group F sharing 16 points
with 3º placed Nth.Ireland, while Sweden leads with 19 pts.
Spain plays Latvia on Wednesday & MUST win to stay alive.
It can thank GOD that Sweden drew & Nth.Ireland lost, because
seeing their game today against Iceland they do not deserve
to go to Euro 2008, they gave a ridiculous image & perhaps
big changes need to happen on all levels if Spain is to regain
any credibility. It was a mess tonight, a horrible game for
Spain. Congratulations Iceland.
Match details:
Iceland 1: Arason; Kristján Sigurdsson, Ragnar Sigurdsson,
Ingimarsson, Hreidarsson; Steinsson, Arnason, Vidarsson
(Skúlasson, m.68), Hallfredsson; Gudjonsson
(Adalsteinsson, m.79); & Thorvaldsson (Bjornsson, m.88).
Spain 1 : Iker Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Marchena, Juanito,
Pernía (Albelda, m.26); Joaquín (Luis García, m.68), Xabi
Alonso, Xavi, Silva; Torres (Iniesta, m.57) & Villa.
Goals: Hallfredsson (m.40) ; Iniesta (m.86) Tweet
8 comments:
Spain are probably the greatest underachievers when it comes to international football - why is this?
I have lived in the UK all my life, but my mother is Castillian and has not lived in Spain of over forty years. As a result I don't think I have a very objective view on such matters.
Sorry to get into politics Striker, but I wonder how much of Spains poor international form is down to certain political and historical divides between the Spainish people? What's your take?
One would hope that these guys are professional and able to see past all that, but I have heard of some players going as far as to refuse to play for Spain on political grounds.
their defence was rather non- existent! poor communication between the back four, or at least that was how it seemed. i thought the iniesta substitution was a bad idea, but thank God he scored.
I honestly wonder WHY, with players the like of Villa, Torres, Sergio Ramos, Spain has to struggle to qualify!
Hi guys.
Dont think politics plays a role.
I see these factors:
(1)The national league is full of foreign players. We have an increible U/17, U/19 & U/21 International squads ( Euro & World Champs) & when they get older cannot find a spot in our big teams to continue their development
(2) Spanish mentality... its not a winning mentality
(3) Our physical capacity is poor
(4) Bad national coaches...too conservative
The number of foreigners in the league is an interesting argument.
I was having a similar debate in the pub the other day with some friends about the England squad. England have also been dissappointing and many say it is becsaue of the number of foreign players in the premiership.
An interesting (alternative) perspective someone offered on this was that whilst less of your local players get a chance to develop; those that do make the grade to stay in the league must raise their game to play even better because of the higher standard.
In theory the 20 players you pick for the squad should be better players. Certainly, when you look at the Spainish and English squads it's hard not to disagree with this point of view. Look at them, they are the best players in the world and we aren't talking about the minority of the team here, almost every position is filled with a few world class options.
The mental element Evo!
I'd say it's more the Aragones element at the moment.
But does anyone else agree that the straight red on Xavi Alonso was complete shite? The picture you posted seems really appropriate to me, Striker, in that the ref was closing his eyes. The foul in question was simply a collision, right? And then the defender wrapped his legs around Xavi's, not releasing nor allowing Xavi to do anything but come down on top of him. Is there something I missed?
And as for the defense and the poor performance - keep in mind that Puyol is still injured, who would otherwise be captain, organizing the defense and providing the on-field leadership that Spain lacked on Saturday. I know these are just explanations for one poor performance, not for decades of under-achieving, but still worth considering.
Lets hope Spain can beat Latvia on Wednesday:)
Thanks John
Very interesting...
absurd thought -
God of the Universe says
outlaw sports...
.
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