Spain gets through to Round of 16 with a little scare

The Spanish national team has booked their ticket to the Round of 16. Here’s a look at the match recap and what their finish in Group B means.

As was expected Spain have made their way to the Round of 16, but with struggles, many did not see coming. In all three games Spain has dominated in possession and in chances but their conversion rate has been sub-par. After three games Spain has won one and drawn two, scoring six and conceding five.

Match Recap

Much like Spain’s group stage campaign, today’s match against Morrocco did not go as planned. Spain dominated possession yet again keeping hold of the ball 75% of the time. La Roja passed incredibly well with 92% accuracy and had three times as many shots as their opponents with 18.

Despite all this success on the stat sheet Spain drew level with Morrocco, 2-2. Andres Iniesta’s haphazard touch/pass to Sergio Ramos created a sloppy mess, with De Gea struggling to clean up. Moroccan striker Khalid Boutaïb capitalized on the error breaking free on Spain’s goal. Khalid finished up the chance with a clean and composed finish under De Gea’s legs.

An incredible link up Diego Costa, Andres Iniesta and Isco saw Spain draw level just five minutes later. Inside the 18 yard box, Costa played a neat diagonal ball to Iniesta who then played the ball of to Isco. Isco took a soft touch to settle the ball to finally rifle it into the roof of the net.

The 22nd to 31st-minute saw mayhem ensue as the referee dished out four yellow cards, all to Morrocan players. Spain would continue to press their opponents with many chances, unfortunately, going array.

In the 81-minute Morroco stunned Spain again with a goal from Youssef En-Nesyri. Having the lead stolen once again, Spain through all their men forward. Spanish substitute Iago Aspas would score a beautiful backheel flick from a set piece. The delivery from Dani Carvajal showcased his pinpoint accuracy in crossing the ball.

The goal by Aspas was initially ruled offside but thanks to VAR (Video Assistant Referee) was corrected and ruled onside. This is just another incident showing the benefits of having the VAR system.

Round of 16

The group stage has now concluded with Spain topping the table ahead of Portugal on goal difference. Both teams finished with five points but Spain did Portugal one better having netted six.

Spain will now play Russia in the Round of 16, which will take place on July 1. Host nation Russia finished second in their group three points behind Uruguay. Russia won two of their games losing their final match against Uruguay. In the group stage, they have scored eight goals and conceded four. Former Real Madrid player Denis Cheryshev scored three goals himself.

Playing the host nation will be no easy task but Spain has the personnel to get the job done. The atmosphere will be intense as they look to progress into the World Cup. Real Madrid players have been key to Spain’s success thus far and will look to keep the streak alive.

Next: Real Madrid loanee James Rodriguez shines for Colombia

Man of the Match

Real Madrid has seen another one of their players hoist the MOTM award. Isco has been presented with the Budweiser MOTM award for his phenomenal performance against Morrocco. Despite his team struggling to get going at times the Madrid attacker picked up the slack.

Isco has played all 270 minutes of the group stage, and with good reason. In today’s match, he showed exactly way Manager Hierro gives him a role in the starting XI. Isco had the highest number of touches with 128, making 98 passes with 91.8% accuracy.

Along with his fiery goal from inside the box to bring the game back level he got on defensive duty as well. Making three tackles and two interceptions showed his resilience in helping his team no matter what.

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