Spain came into the 2010 FIFA World Cup as one of the top contenders to win the tournament, and coach Vicente del Bosque and his boys would have expected to come out victorious against Switzerland in Durban. iSporter Akshay Iyer analyses Spain's loss to Switzerland.
Spain came into the match against Switzerland on a 12-match winning streak and the Swiss had also never won an international against the Spaniards.
Spain has also been a perennial under-achiever at major tournaments including World Cups, but their victorious run in Euro 2008 and an undefeated campaign during the qualifiers for South Africa, made them a joint favourite along with Brazil to go all the way. Del Bosque's team is also filled with stars and when a coach has to leave players like Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas and Jesus Navas on the bench, it is but an indication of the talent of the European champions.
However, the star power and attacking play didn't help Spain get off to a victorious start in their World Cup campaign as they slumped to a 0-1 defeat against Switzerland. The hero for the Swiss was Gelson Fernandes who scored in the second half to help Switzerland record the upset of the World Cup so far.
Until then and even after getting the lead, Switzerland were forced into the defensive role for most of the match as Spain's midfield and forward line of Iniesta, David Villa, David Silva and substitute Torres exploited the holes in the Swiss defence time and time again with some exciting brand of attacking football.
Unfortunately for the Spanish team and its fans, despite having 63 percent of the possession and 24 shots at the goal, the Spanish forward line just failed to find the back of the Swiss net. In contrast, Switzerland took maximum advantage of one of the few chances they had during the match, and had another shot not hit the goal post, the Swiss could well as have won 2-0.
It is hard to explain Spain's loss as they were far the superior side on the day, but the inability to convert those chances cost them dear in the end.
The loss will hopefully serve as a wake-up call to del Bosque and his team for the rest of the campaign in the group stages against Chile and Honduras.
These two matches have now turned into must-win contests for the Spaniards, and while Honduras shouldn't be much of a challenge, Chile's display in their first match means del Bosque and his team have a match on their hands. One only hopes that all those doubts and disappointments that Spain has faced in previous World Cups doesn't haunt them in their remaining group matches.
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/hide comments
Show/hide comment form
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
