Vicente Del Bosque has explained how he tweaked Spain’s style of play following the World Cup. “We’ve changed our game from three attackers to two.”
La Roja endured a torrid defence of their title over the summer, as they crashed out of the tournament at the group stage, but the Coach – who kept his job amidst the outcry of their failure in Brazil – believes his team are now well-equipped to retain the European Championship in 2016.
“The defeat to Slovakia in Zilina made things complicated for us, neither have we played against Ukraine yet, our other dangerous rivals in the group,” he stated to RFEF’s official website.
“We know when a mistake has to be corrected, so we're trying to consolidate the group for a ticket to the finals.
“We’ve changed our game from playing with three attackers – Iniesta, Cesc and Silva – to two in recent games with either [Paco] Alcacer and [Diego] Costa or Alcacer and [Alvaro] Morata.
“We’re still seeking our biggest offensive presence, but we haven’t found it entirely and perhaps that’s provided us with some uncertainty in that regard.”
Del Bosque has placed emphasis on youth in Spain's recent matches, with the likes of Paco Alcacer, Cesar Azpilicueta and Isco being integrated into his new-look side.
“The selection of which we speak of has lasted us at least until 2014, and many of those players remain a part of it. We haven’t marginalised anyone,” he added.
“There are still many high-level players who can be in the team for our upcoming commitments. Don’t forget that we’re champions of Europe until 2016.
“We believe that part of our obligations are to translate the values of a team who represent everyone.”
