Luis de la Fuente prides himself on the talent and versatility of his players, combining this with tactical flexibility that often pays off. In Seville, facing a granite Scotland who came to keep a clean sheet, he knew how to combine the ingredients needed to solve the sudoku posed by the English’s numerous defences. Spain won with two goals from Morata and Sancet, which sparked celebration, but it was Bryan Zaragoza’s audacity that lit up the stands and woke Spain from their leaden doldrums in the first half.
Scotland needed a point to qualify directly for the European Cup, while Spain desperately needed victory in both Seville and Oslo to secure passage and overtake Norway. So the guys from De la Fuente jumped into the grass without being demanding and excessive. Injuries to Lamine, Yeremi Pino and Nico Williams left Haro with one bullet in the chamber: rookie Bryan Zaragoza, whom he left on the bench.
There are no extremes to face
Koç chose to accompany Morata de Oyarzabal and Ferran and place them inside, with the idea of opening a lane for Carvajal and Balde. Aware of this, the Scots herded the players indoors to prevent local deployment. But still the start was promising. On the first play, Morata left Ferran Torres alone in front of the goalkeeper, but the self-proclaimed ‘Shark’ failed badly to clear the ball. And three minutes later a corner cross crossed the Scottish wicket without finding the finisher. Spain bottlenecked their opponent and waited out of position for the surprise appearances of Gavi, Ferran and Oyarzabal.
The Scottish 3-4-3 became an undisguised 5-4-1, with Dykes doomed at the top and Unai Simón another spectator of the game. Spain’s lack of overruns, with players not facing each other or dribbling, punished De la Fuente’s men, who gained possession without creating big opportunities. The clearest one has arrived In the 33rd minute, Merinos sent a loose ball onto the post and then walked down the line without wanting to go inside. At that point Oyarzabal was already the player who had the most weight on the pitch because of his decisions, his involvement, his communication, his charisma… The nil-nil in the first half rewarded the Scottish setup and condemned an unstable and predictable Spain. There was no news from Ferran, Gavi, Rodri and Carvajal, and the most active players in the match were Balde, Merinos, Oyarzabal and Morata, and their goals were not accepted due to offside.
VAR and McTominay
At halftime, De la Fuente did not wait any longer and did what the game wanted: We reflected the courage of Bryan Zaragoza on the field, It took just three minutes to justify his call and participation. He faced off, left two opponents on the road and shot high. In 90 seconds, he had single-handedly managed to dribble more than the three spears combined in the first half. Animated was fouled on his own mark on the next play and from there Spain realized the path was down the left, where Fran García entered for Balde. After dancing with Koundé, he used an outside cross to beat Ter Stegen, resulting in a corner when the ball headed towards Morata. Events were starting to happen in the Scotland area and De la Fuente applauded from the sidelines. Morata could have moved the scoreboard but after a delightful Atlético manoeuvre, the ball skimmed the ball into the top corner.
Scotland were not devastated as they doggedly pursued the equalizer point and were occasionally encouraged to step into Spanish territory through Ryan Christie. Bournemouth’s left-footer was fouled in the penalty area. Rolling over, McTominay shot away due to Unai Simón’s strange passivity. Something that the VAR is then obliged to dismantle, By revealing a Scottish attacker was offside. The game sparked 45,000 spectators who occupied the stands of the ruined La Cartuja stadium and the tone of the game changed.
Goals by Morata and Sancet
Stuck in the Scotland zone, De la Fuente placed Navas in the right lane and Sancet behind Morata, pushing Merinos off the field and placing Gavi in a double pivot position. Strength and courage to destabilize the Caledonian wall resisting local pressures. It was not for nothing that Clarke’s team conceded only one goal in the five matches they played and won in this division. And in a game with no danger in sight Navas delivered a delicious cross in front of the defense and Álvaro Morata put Spain ahead. This Morata is happy in this mature phase of his career that he is going through. The coach moved the board to find a solution on the wing and the goal came from there. The goal scored by Sancet, who took advantage of his opponent’s slip in the last minutes, gave De la Fuente’s Spain a solid step forward and a difficult victory.