Maybe we shouldn’t have been so shocked. Maybe we had become so accustomed to Spain’s recent dominance — it’s EURO2008 title, it’s perfect World Cup qualifying campaign, it’s run of 47 games with only 1 loss (USA! USA!) — that we forgot just how much a well-organized defense could stifle them. Jose Mourinho proved it against Barcelona in the Champions League semifinals. Spain is loaded for bear with Barcelona stars and lined up in a very Barca-like 4-3-3. Many have suggested they just didn’t know what to do without Lionel Messi out there.
Then again, as Zonal Marking points out, maybe Spain’s problem is one that has dogged Barca in recent months — too much possessing, not enough attacking.
For all their possession, Spain didn’t create that many goalscoring opportunities. Whilst Switzerland defended well, the most notable feature of the game was quite how bad David Silva and Andres Iniesta were when they got the ball, how anonymous Xavi was, and how frustrating the full-backs were to watch. The Swiss can take some credit for forcing them into poor performances, but even the pressure on the man in possession doesn’t excuse constantly bad passes, poor movement and a lack of drive from Spain’s host of top-class players.
Perhaps the biggest surprise in the aftermath of this, the World Cup’s biggest upset thus far, is that we haven’t heard the typical English excuse for Spain’s struggles — fixture congestion. Barcelona, Real Madrid and Valencia have spent the last two seasons competing in both Spain and Europe. Is it possible that after playing 50-60 games per season for the last 2-3 seasons, these Spaniards are struggling with fatigue?
Whatever the reason for this loss, this team has to shake off this loss and focus on what’s now required of it — winning its next two games in order to avoid Brazil in the first knockout round. Beating Honduras on Monday shouldn’t be too difficult. Beating Chile on the 25th? According to The Sports Section’s Josh Dean, that might be a tall order.
Man, the Chileans are fun to watch. The core of this team finished third in the 2007 under-20 World Cup, and now older and complemented with a cluster of experienced players, finished second in South American qualifying, scoring 32 goals in the process (just one fewer than Brazil). They are quick, talented, and entertaining as hell, and this was without their star forward, Humberto Suazo, who scored more goals than anyone else in South American qualifying.
Get your popcorn ready.
