Euro 2012 Qualifiers – Scotland vs Spain Preview and Match Comment Thread

October 12th, 2010 | by: Ade C. |

You’d think that this is another one of those ‘easy ones’ like Lithuania or Liechtenstein, but you might (or might not) be surprised to know that “Spain have conceded 1.55 goals per game v Scotland, their 2nd worst ratio against nations they have faced more than once” (via the wise @OptaJose).

A Scot and a 'Spaniard'... come on, do you know how long I've waited to make a 'there can only be one' joke?

Spain and Scotland have played each other eleven times (4 wins, 3 defeats and 4 draws for Spain), but the only time La Roja has won in Scotland was in 1974, when Angel María Villar, our dear RFEF director, was playing… can this team make history? Well, if any team can, it’s the one that Del Bosque has summoned for these qualifiers!

But wait… there is a surprise! In his press conference yesterday, Our Wise Walrus said: “I’m not going to make big changes. We’re going to play almost the same players. We are not thinking of playing two defensive midfielders.”

That sound you just heard was me (and, possibly, Xabi Alonso) keeling over in shock. No double pivot? Can this be a dream?

Scotland famously played a 4-6-0 against the Czech Republic while we were testing Lithuania last week, but coach Craig Levein told the BBC that ‘he will deploy a “different game plan” against the world and European champions, while making no apology for his approach against the Czechs’. Of course, it isn’t as if La Roja weren’t geting used to playing ultra-defensive teams by now, and if Del Bosque keeps his word and plays the fluid 5-men-attack of the Lithuania match, this can actually turn to our advantage.

My proposed line-up, then, looks like this:

—————-Casillas——————
Ramos—-Piqué—Puyol—-Capdevila
——————-Alonso——————–
————-Cazorla—Iniesta—————
——Silva—–Llorente—–Villa——

Whilst the prospect of throwing our fragile, tiny players (I’m looking at you, Iniesta, Silva, Villa, Cazorla… oh, who am I kidding, just about everyone except Llorente, Puyol and Piqué, and this last one anyways always ends up bleeding), against the rocky Scottish defence doesn’t precisely fill me with joy, I think they can put their agility and speed to good use in Hampden Park.

I’d like to see a change in the back-four, maybe give Piqué some rest (and some time to remember he’s actually a CB, not a striker), maybe be careful with The Ramos and the knock he picked on his ankle last match, maybe give Monreal some minutes instead of El Capo, but I think that Del Bosque is going to play it safe and keep the regulars in place. If anything, we can except the new faces to make appearances as subs if things go well (Valero in for Iniesta during the second half, for example? Another chance for Aduriz to score?). We’ll see…

In other news, the boys of La Rojita won against Croatia 2-1 in the first leg of the play-offs (goals by Adrián and San José) and will play today the return leg in Varazdin, hoping to win, or at least retain their advantage and qualify for the U21 Euros. Juan Mata has been a great asset (and captain!) for the team, save for a ridiculous miss late in the first match, but youngsters Parejo, Adrián, San José, Thiago Alcántara and, of course, De Gea have performed excellently too. Let’s wish them luck!

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Jim

Do you have a good link to watch online? We don't get this on any tv channel.
ROD

When's the u-21 game?
ROD

THe U-21 is much more insteresting than the scotland game
http://spain.worldcupblog.org/ Ade C.

You can try to find a stream at myp2p.eu or rojadirecta.org, I'm sure there'll be tons of them for tonight!
http://spain.worldcupblog.org/ Ade C.

The U21s just finished playing some twenty minutes ago. It wasn't a great game, and most of the excitement came from the throwing of flares onto the field, but it was alright.
I'm hoping the Scotland match will be better, though!
http://spain.worldcupblog.org/ Ade C.

La Rojita just beat Croatia (U21) 0-3 (Domínguez, Adrián, Jeffren), for an aggregate of 1-5 that ensures their presence in the 2011 U21 Euros.
Let's hope La Roja does equally well…
ROD

that's good
http://spain.worldcupblog.org/ Ade C.

Damn it, Del Bosque lied to us!!!

Staring XI for tonight: Casillas, Ramos, Puyol, Piqué, Capdevila; Busquets, Alonso, Silva, Iniesta, Cazorla and Villa.

Where on God's green earth is Llorente?!
ROD

WTF? are you sure this is the lineup? No llorente is he insane?
ROD

Llorente better be injured
http://spain.worldcupblog.org/ Ade C.

Bench: Valdés, Marchena, Arbeloa, Monreal, Iniesta, Alonso, Busquets, Cazorla, Soriano, Llorente and P. Hernández.

Aduriz, Reina and Borja Valero get to watch the game from the stands.
ROD

apparently scoring 2 goals means you are not good enough to start against scotland
http://spain.worldcupblog.org/ Ade C.

I copied the line-up from the official RFEF Twitter, it doesn't get much more sure than that. But Llorente is on the bench, so he's not injured. And Aduriz is going to be watching from the stands, so… I don't know. Del Bosque going to do his double-pivot+one-striker thing again, I guess…
ROD

just weird
http://spain.worldcupblog.org/ Ade C.

Vibrant first half, with Scotland a lot more dangerous than their 4-5-1 would suggest. Whilst Spain are having great trouble grasping the concept of 'counter-attack' (there is a time for tiki-taka, and that isn't it!), Scotland are loving it, and only Busquets and Capdevila have stood at times between Scotland and the goal.
Lots of chances for Silva, Villa, and even Iniesta, but it is David Villa who scored at the end of the first half, from a PK due to a handball in the box (bye-bye, Raúl's record!).

End of the first half, Scotland 0, Spain 1 (Villa, 44')
http://spain.worldcupblog.org/ Ade C.

Nervewracking second half.
Iniesta scored a lovely goal near the 55th minute, but Scotland got one back with a counter soon after, and then Piqué scored an own goal attempting a last-ditch defense.
It took Pablo H and LLORENTE coming in (for Cazorla and Silva) for LLORENTE to score the third and final goal and save our bacon.

FT: Scotland 2 (Naismith, Piqué o.g.), Spain 3 (Villa, Iniesta, LLORENTE)

This wouldn't have happened if Del Bosque had kept his word, ditched the double-pivot and played Llorente-Villa.
I'm mad at Our Wise Walrus…
stephanie87

I was literally saying to myself…”put llorente in” and sure enough, there he was with his skin-tight shirt ready to come in. I knew he'd score but wow what a nerve-wrecking game and scotland surprised me!
http://spain.worldcupblog.org/ Ade C.

I was saying to myself 'Put Llorente in!' since two hours before the match started… how can Del Bosque bench such a great head for goals, such a skin-tight shirt? I don't get it!
And yeah, Scotland surprised all of us, including the team, I think…
Jim

In retrospect, you were probably right about Pique. He needed some rest. Scotland was very strong, though. At least we came away with 3 points and I hope none of those tackles on our boys left any lasting damage.
James

I'll comment more later on after I have watched the match. Just have to say that this “victory” is not so gratifying, esp when our two closest rivals, the Dutch and the Germans trash their opponent 3-0 and 4-1 on the same day. It looks like we are struggling to win.

Pique own goal….. OMG…
http://spain.worldcupblog.org/ Ade C.

Yes, Piqué has had a dip in form lately, though I don't think he had a bad match last night. Both the Scotland goals can be blamed more on The Ramos, who was never in position, than on Piqué. But still, some rest would've done him good…
Funny about injuries. Villa picked up a knock on his left knee at the end of the match and might not get to play on Saturday against Valencia… shoot me now!
http://spain.worldcupblog.org/ Ade C.

Well, it was a hard-won victory, but I think it was a pretty good one. The team played well, had lots of chances, dealt relatively well with the Scottish defence. The two Scottish goals were more a matter of luck (especially the second one) than a sign of who was controlling the match.
Poor Piqué… I guessed he'd have preferred to bleed all over the place again!