Pedro leaps over a Swiss defender as he attempts to create a chance on goal from the left flank. None of Spain's efforts would be successful, as Switzerland's defense would hold tight, causing Spain to go down 1-0 in the biggest World Cup upset so far.Today was quite the upset, as Spain would go down to Switzerland in the first match of their World Cup campaign. The World Cup favorites could not come up with the win against Switzerland, who played a mainly defensive style all game.
Spain were the clear aggressors in the beginning of the match, possessing the ball as is typical of their style of play. But, Switzerland played an 11 man defense to keep Spain at bay. Spain had the better chances in the 1st half, although most of the time was spent trying to (unsuccessfully) break down the defense. The first half would end with neither scoring. Spain had most of the chances, as Switzerland rarely strayed from their defensive tactic.
The second half would start, and the same type of play continued, with Spain possessing and attacking, and with Switzerland holding down on defense. Disaster would strike soon, however, as Switzerland would capitalize on a break. Spain's defense made some bad mistakes in clearing the ball, as it came over the top. The Swiss were in the box and it became a scramble for the ball, as Casillas would charge out and slide in. The ball went loose as Spain's defenders and Switzerland's strikers would scramble for the it. Pique fell on the ball, but in the midst of the confusion, Fernandes of Switzerland would emerge with it, and would put the ball in the back of the net, even with Casillas sliding in from behind to prevent what was inevitably going to happen.
Spain obviously became frustrated, as the remainder of their 1st half efforts, and also almost their entire 2nd half efforts would suffer from it. Spain put way too much pressure on themselves to do well, so when the Swiss came out and scored, Spain became frustrated, desperate, and lost concentration. Their passing and play-making a hit because of it. Both became erratic, sloppy, and very willy-nilly. They were trying anything they could to break down the defense. They changed their formation from a lone striker to a standard 4-4-2, which did help, but other than that, Spain could still not break through. Their plays were predictable as well, as they relied a lot on the wings for support into the box, as Spain could not enter from center field. Spain was clearly taken out of their element, and since they were frustrated and cracking under pressure, were not able to deal with the situation properly. Spain would have one close chance, which would come off a corner. Xabi Alonso, stationed outside the 18, would send one flying, just to see it hit cross bar and deflect back towards Swiss defenders. Spain would go on to lose the match 1-0, giving away the biggest upset so far in the World Cup.
The one thing Spain should learn from this match, is that they can't lose confidence, and can't allow themselves to be taken out of the game. This isn't time to go back to the old Spain who cracked under pressure, and became frustrated too easily. Its time to move forward. They have to remain confident and concentrated, otherwise their plays and passes will suffer, meaning they will have very little hopes to score. Also, the lone striker formation has got to go. David Villa is a talented striker and has carried Spain through friendlies and World Cup Qualifiers, but in a game like this, lone striker can be a disadvantage. Villa had no room to breathe, as he was double or triple-teamed constantly. There was always a defender attached to Villa's hip, no matter where he went. A double striker formation, or the classic 4-4-2, gives more of an offensive opportunity. Having 2 strikers is a great formation if you're an attacking team. It opens up space, relieves defensive pressure on the other striker, and helps create more opportunities. There were better chances in this match with Villa passing it off to Torres, than there were in the 1st half, with Xavi and Iniesta trying to find a double-teamed Villa who was alone up front. If Spain wants success, I think the key will be the 4-4-2 formation, with Villa and Torres up top.
Its hard to decide how to look at this result. Is this a taste of what's to come from Spain? Or can this be a wake-up call for them? Not exactly sure. To be honest, I'm glad that Spain is getting a loss out of the way now. I'd rather they just make it out of the group stage and go on to win, rather than have them totally dominate in the group stage, then fizzle out when they get to the Round of 16 or Quarterfinals. Besides, this might prove to be a wake-up call to Spain. This will teach them the lesson that no team can be taken lightly in this World Cup, and also, that if they want to win, they will have to step up their game and leave it all out there. Spain needs to win their next 2 group stage matches against Honduras and Chile respectively, in order to get out of the group stage.
Historically, no team has ever won the World Cup after losing their first match. I think we might be able to break this tradition. If Spain just takes from this and wakes up, they can turn it around and pull through. If they don't, then they didn't deserve to be here. I have faith in Spain to change things for the better in this tournament.
Denise
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