Has an unlikely hero emerged for the Spanish national team?

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Despite topping their group following a dramatic 2-2 draw with Morocco last night, even the most ardent of Spanish football fans will feel that their World Cup campaign has yet to reach the high expectations that are set for the national team.

With the slow erosion of the national team’s tiki-taka prime since the retirement of the iconic duo of Xabi and Puyol, coupled with Iniesta’s waning influence on proceedings and the omission of Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas, Spanish football is facing an identity crisis shaped by an uncertainty as to the sort of team that they now are.

This loss of a strategic approach to their last two international tournaments, Continue reading

Germany and Spain lay out draw in La Liga-studded clash

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With La Liga action being suspended for the international break, we took the opportunity to take a look at how many of the Spanish division’s top stars performed in the clash between Germany and Spain at the ESPRIT Arena – a game that saw Barcelona’s Marc Ter Stegen and Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos play for the hosts, as sixteen leading La Liga players featured in total.

Having come off the back of a successful qualifying group in which they won nine of their ten fixtures, Spain arrived in the game brimming with confidence and a desire to prove themselves against an elite side having whimpered out of the last two tournaments. Continue reading

The star La Liga performers over the international weekend

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No La Liga action from the week just gone but here are some of the star performers to have emerged from Spain’s premiere division from the international break!

Kaylor Navas, Costa Rica

The Madrid goalkeeper has been put under immense scrutiny over a tepid campaign for Los Blancos but secured a clean sheet for his national side in their 1-0 victory over Scotland.

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La Roja también tiene recambios

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Lopetegui se ha encontrado con un problema de cara a los últimos encuentros para la clasificación del Mundial. La Roja tiene medio pie en Rusia, pero aún tiene que certificarlo. ¿Cuál es el hándicap? Las bajas, el seleccionador tiene 3 antes de iniciar la concentración, pero ya ha llamado a sus sustitutos.

Dani Carvajal sufre una pericarditis aguda que le tendrá fuera durante 15 días. En lateral diestro del Madrid ya fue baja en la última jornada de Liga. Pero ya tiene relevo. Odriozola, de la Real Sociedad, le suplirá. Con apenas 21 años se ha ganado un hueco de titular en la defensa donostiarra y apunta a ser un jugador de futuro. Continue reading