Switzerland continued their great form with an organised performance and a 1-1 draw with Spain on Sunday night.
Defender Álvaro Odriozola staked his claim for a place in the World Cup starting XI with a goal, but the Spanish evening was ruined by a bizarre error by David de Gea, who allowed Ricardo Rodriguez to equalise.
It was a tough night for La Roja; they struggled to break down Vladimir Petković’s side, but their weakened side will be glad for the run-out.
Here are four talking points from the Estadio de la Ceramica.
David de Gea is human after all
So much can change so quickly in football, but de Gea knows more than most that time is a healer. He joined Manchester United as a fresh-faced 20-year-old in need of physical development in 2011; highly-rated in Spain after time at Atletico Madrid, his inexperience and lack of physique counted for little in his early months in England. Chastised at times by the unforgiving British press, mistakes were becoming the norm but, seven years on, he has grown, both physically and mentally. Now the obvious candidate for the best goalkeeper in the world, de Gea has appeared superhuman at times; until he faced Switzerland. Possession had been everything for Spain, but they were made to pay for failing to add to their lead after the break when Rodriguez, facing the country of his uncle’s birth, prodded the ball home from close range.
The goal itself didn’t tell the story, though; de Gea had completely misjudged a seemingly innocuous cross-shot from Arsenal-bound defender Stephen Lichtsteiner, allowing the ball to literally slip through his fingers before Rodriguez pounced. Spain upped their intensity in search of a winner, but they made so many changes that their cohesion ceased; their pressing, which had been so effective collectively earlier on in the game, became disjointed. Most worryingly, they didn’t pepper the Switzerland goal; Diego Costa, Iago Aspas and Rodrigo need to find form if they are to succeed this summer.
Álvaro Odriozola puts himself in pole position at right back for Spain
When Julen Lopetegui called up Odriozola, the brief for the 22-year-old Real Sociedad fullback would have been to head to the World Cup, be ready when called upon and, most importantly, gain valuable experience for the future. But with Real Madrid’s Dani Carvajal a doubt for the start of the tournament after being forced off in the Champions League final, and having been handed a start on Sunday evening, he would have sensed an opportunity; scoring the opening goal would surely have given his manager food for thought, too. Odriozola was making just his third senior appearance for La Roja, and he showed just how well suited he is to the national side, getting up and down the pitch with ease and providing the perfect compliment to Jordi Alba, who was doing the same on the other side.
The definitive moment of his game, and the firsthalf, came just a minute shy of the half hour mark, courtesy of a move he started. His cross found David Silva, who really enjoyed himself all night; he picked up the loose ball and played it in again with the perfect weight. Odriozola set himself and hit across the ball with his right foot, giving Yann Sommer no chance. He is yet to be tested defensively, and Spain’s first competitive game of the summer is against Portugal. If he starts, he could get the mother of all tests against Cristiano Ronaldo in Sochi in the opening game, but there can be no doubting his credentials following this particular showing.
Andres Iniesta and David Silva look set to enjoy one last flourish this summer
As Marco Asensio and Saúl Ñíguez watched on from the bench, Spain knew they could rest easy; unlike immediately after the last World Cup in Brazil four years ago, the future looks bright. Xavi Hernandez, Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso and David Villa, their all-time top goalscorer, all stepped away from the team after the horror show in 2014, which saw them fail to reach the knockout stages. There was quality coming through, the talent pool is rarely shallow these days, but nobody was quite ready to step up to the plate to continue at the standard that had been set over the previous six years. Silva, Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique are all set for their final World Cup, and the former pair, comfortable in the knowledge there will be a fight on for their places when they’re gone, look determined to go out on a high.
For Iniesta in particular, it will be an emotional time. His now weekly substitution early in the second half gave the chance for the crowd to pay homage to a veteran superstar, who played his final game in Spain before he moves to Vissel Kobe in Japan later this summer. Iniesta has already waved goodbye to Barcelona, where he spent the season playing wide on the left of a midfield four under Ernesto Valverde, but he and Silva found space in more central areas in the first half. The tempo of the game was good throughout, and it picked up with the Switzerland equaliser after Iniesta was withdrawn, but their linkup play was superb. Silva played off Costa, ghosting in to shoot wide of Sommer’s goal from the striker’s flick on for one of the game’s first chances, but he was most prominent in putting the Swiss midfield under pressure. Alongside Iniesta, who seemed to enjoy getting closer to the goal in his central role, which allowed Alba and Odriozola to provide width, the 32-year-old really makes the team tick.
Switzerland cannot be underestimated in Russia
Brazil, Serbia and Costa Rica will have sat up and taken notice of the Switzerland performance, but also how impressive they have been since Euro 2016. They were knocked out of the tournament by Poland on penalties, but went on to lose just once more ahead of this game, to Portugal in the final match of the group stages. That loss cost them a clean sweep of wins in qualification for the World Cup as well as top spot, but they have 15 from their last 20 games to their name.
Even without Granit Xhaka, the Arsenal midfielder, the Swiss managed to hold their own in midfield. Petkovic has instilled great organisation and an impressive work ethic in his four-year reign, and with Xherdan Shaqiri and Breel Embolo in attack, they possess a real threat in attack.
