After another goalless display on Saturday against Slovakia, Daryl Hammond believes time is running out for Diego Costa to prove he is worthy of being Spain's No 9.
Spain may have completely picked Slovakia apart with their fluid brand of football on Saturday, but their finishing also left a lot to be desired. La Roja's style of play sees everyone get in on the action, but the responsibility of putting the ball in the back of the net usually falls to the striker – in this case, Diego Costa.
It's no secret that Costa has had a tough time since debuting for Spain. The real question is why the Diego Costa who took both La Liga and the Premier League by storm over the past two seasons can’t seem to do the same for his national side. Why can’t a man who's scored so many goals do so in a team who seem to do nothing but create chances?
Long before Costa had kicked a ball for Spain, compatibility issues arose between his rugged approach and La Roja's intricate play. For starters, the 26-year-old is altogether a different beast when compared to Spain’s recent strikers. Fernando Torres, David Villa and Raul Gonzalez, despite their varying traits, were technically-gifted strikers who slotted seamlessly into their country's starting XI.
The Brazil-born hitman's transition to the national team was far from smooth, however, as he was thrust into the 2014 World Cup with only a couple of caps under his belt and a major injury. Nevertheless, Costa has gone on to show some promise. Aside from the goal he scored last year against Luxembourg, his desire to engage in physical battles with defenders has seen him win three penalties for Spain.
Vicente del Bosque coerced Costa to turn his back on his homeland in favour of his adopted nation and has since showed tremendous faith, publicly defending the striker.
“Against a team playing so defensively, the player who has the most difficult job is the one in his position. He moved well, he kept the defenders busy. We have to be patient. A lot of the time when he gets the ball he has his back to goal,” said the Coach after La Roja's 2-0 victory over Slovakia in Euro 2016 qualifying.
Costa's teammates Cesc Fabregas, Santi Cazorla and Pedro Rodriguez have also talked up the striker in recent media appearances, although when others are forced to jump to your defence, it’s never a good sign. Of course, the man himself won’t be oblivious to this. He knows he needs to score goals.
Tuesday may be one of the few chances the striker has left as Spain travel to Macedonia. Sitting bottom of the group, it provides the perfect opportunity for Costa to further gel with his teammates, should he be picked.
If Costa can’t get his act together for Spain, there is a conveyor belt of young, hungry strikers ready to usurp him. Paco Alcacer replaced him against Slovakia and already has four goals in seven caps, while Alvaro Morata, Rodrigo Moreno, Munir El Haddadi and Juanmi have also all been capped over the past 12 months. Even Roberto Soldado may be in for a national-team recall if he is able to maintain his impressive start to the season.
How long will it be before both Del Bosque and Spain lose patience? The European champions can’t afford to carry a misfiring striker into Euro 2016 and will need to be at their very best to defend their title. That includes Costa. He needs to step up his game or risk being left at home.
