Spain lost the opening game of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, going down 1-0 to Switzerland, before going on to lift football’s greatest prize after defeating the Netherlands by the same scoreline in a brutal final in Johannesburg.
When the Dutch exacted their revenge on La Roja last Friday with a 5-1 win that stunned the world, they did so more emphatically than anybody could have anticipated. Louis van Gaal’s men simply brushed Spain aside, carving them open at will and sealing a win they thoroughly deserved.
Del Bosque, calm and phlegmatic, will not have enjoyed his side’s second-half pummelling, nor is he likely to forget the ease with which his central defensive pairing of Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique were so ruthlessly exposed by the unstoppable Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie.
The Coach will, no doubt, be taking the pragmatic view that Spain have only lost one match, no more and no less than they did in 2010. Two further group matches remain with the first, against Chile tonight in Rio, giving Del Bosque’s men a chance to bounce back from the biggest loss ever suffered by defending world champions.
Del Bosque’s ‘Wayne Rooney’ conundrum against Chile could be whether to drop his talismanic captain Iker Casillas after the goalkeeper’s nightmare display in Salvador and to play Pepe Reina in his place in the cauldron of the Maracana after David De Gea was injured in training.
The Spanish boss could also be considering a call-up for Pedro Rodriguez, perhaps as part of a False Nine set-up, should he decide to sacrifice Diego Costa after the Atletico Madrid man’s unconvincing display against the Netherlands. In defence, Del Bosque also has the option of bringing in Javi Martinez and reorganising a sluggish Spanish defence.
Ironically, Spain’s potential nemesis in the Maracana could be a player most of his men either face or play alongside on a regular basis. Alexis Sanchez will line-up against many of his Barcelona teammates in great form after netting 19 times in La Liga for the Catalans and scoring one and setting up another as Chile raced to a 2-0 lead in their opening World Cup game against Australia.
Spain’s last appearance at the Maracana did not provide happy memories, La Roja crashing 3-0 to Brazil in last year’s Confederations Cup final, a defeat that exposed the first cracks in Del Bosque’s previously invincible line-up. Defeat to the Dutch revealed greater weaknesses, prompting many to conclude that the reign of Spain is drawing to a close.
La Roja have never been vanquished by Chile in 10 previous encounters, winning eight and drawing the other two. Neither have they been defeated in back-to-back international fixtures since 2006 when they lost 3-2 against Northern Ireland and 2-0 to Sweden.
Alexis aside, Chile Coach Jorge Sampaoli has few household names in a team that nevertheless plays with a swagger. A self-confessed disciple of Marcelo Bielsa, a fellow Argentine and former Coach at Athletic Bilbao, Sampaoli’s players combine an aggressive pressing game with a fluent passing approach.
Spain should have too much for the South American’s on paper, but the extent to which La Roja have successfully recovered from their Oranje debacle will be the key to their World Cup future.
