PBP: Nation's League: España vs Croatia

Starting line-up:


........Isco...............Rodrigo...........Asensio
.........Ceballos.......Busquets...Saul.........
Gaya.......Ramos..........Naco.......Carvajal
..............................De Gea........................

I can understand Gaya, our leftback in the other game hardly delivered anything in attack.

Personally I'd put Isco one line back (or bench him, hasn't exactly been playing great) and put Asensio ALM

 

Horrible pass by Isco, possible good attack ruined

 

Wow what a chance for Croatia, he misses barely

 

Carvajal with a huge save

 

Gol! What an attack

 

Saul scores again. Ramos with a huge cross to Carvajal, who passes it with the outside of the foot inside the penalty area and finds Saul's head to put it in the goal.

 

Asensio with the 2nd

 

And again!

 

Ooof what a shot from Asensio 3-0

 

The 2nd goal was a simple long shot with the goalie not standing well tbh, but the 3rd one. He shoots it in the uper right corner and hits the bar and then the goalie to go in. I guess it's an og Should count for Marco though

 

Wow, what a bad fk by Asensio

 

Almost the 4th just before ht. Wasn't easy, but I think Rodrigo should have scored the header

 

So our group looks like this so far:

1. Spain 6 points (+4 GD)
2. England 0 points (-1 GD)
3. Croatia 0 points (-3 GD)

If we become first, we play a mini tournament with all the group winners in the top bracket next year. And I think as the group winner we also get a qualifying chance if we don't qualify for the European Cup directly. Not sure though.

 

Rodrigo with the 4th

 

In a week's time we just beat 2 of the WC semi finalists from a couple of months ago.

If only we let the coach who prepared the team for the tournament stay in his position.

 

5-0

 

Isco with the 6th

 

I think the team was also unmotivated with the coach change. We didn't even try to score when we went ahead, just kept the ball in the team. Not normal like, but to the extreme. I also think Lope has shown that he would have used other players than Hierro did, which might have changed the way we played.

Wether we win it or not is one thing. But there was a huge opportunity this year (England and Croatia on our side of the bracket) and we would have had a much better chance with the coach who had a mega successfull run with us and showing exciting play, than with a coach who just joined days ago while the entire team wanted to keep Lope.

And for what reason? Because the president had a hurt ego? That's whack.

 

Rodrigo should have passed it back tbh, but a nice try nonetheless which almost goes in as well