The team that cut through
Germany crashed into Greece.
Spain began a new
World Cup qualifying campaign exhibiting some old, familiar flaws. Possession was not enough and nor was the Álvaro Morata goal that gave them a first-half lead, seeming to set them up for a comfortable win. Instead, a split second, a slip and a daft penalty, a single moment in a game played almost entirely in the other half of the pitch, allowed Greece to leave Granada with a draw, celebrating at the end.
Spain, meanwhile, were left lamenting a lost opportunity. Lost optimism too. Tasos Bakasetas’s thumping spot-kick was the only shot on target that John van’t Schip’s side had taken, yet it was enough. For Luis Enrique’s team, almost 80% of the ball was not, the euphoria from their last, dazzling display evaporating here. Nor in the end was the life injected into them late on by the debutant Bryan Gil. Something a little different too. They may need it.