It was a rough outing for everyone involved for Spain today, as Finland, who are second in UEFA Euro U-21 qualifying in Group A, shaved three points off them, and are now just two points shy of first place — which is occupied by Spain.
Carlos Espi did not start this game, nor was he able to change the outcome when he entered the field in the 74th minute for former Real Madrid player Iker Bravo with Spain down 2-0.
Bravo was deployed on the right wing today, and when Espi entered the field, he effectively
formed a 4-4-2 with Gonzalo Garcia (who started this game over Espi), playing alongside him at the top. It was one last desperate attempt from head coach David Gordo to put some targets in the box and whip some crosses in.
That tactic worked to some extent late, as Spain did eventually score a consolation goal when Alex Valle whipped in a cross to Jacobo Ramon:
But Spain were very underwhelming for the majority of this game. They initially conceded in the first half when Xavi Espart was beat on the wing before the cut-back found Otto Rupoit who Marc Bernal failed to track. Then in the second half, a nightmarish clearance attempt from Valle at the far post led to Finland’s second goal.
Throughout, Spain played narrow, with Chema Andres and Bernal in the middle, with little outlets to hit ahead of them and Gonzalo isolated far from the play. Most of Spain’s build-up consisted of u-shaped possession which Finland’s organized mid-block became more than comfortable with.
Spain’s next game is against San Marino on October 1st.
