Луис де ла Фуэнтегийн удирдсан Испанийн шигшээ баг хамтын хүч болон тактикийн өндөр сахилга батын ачаар Францыг 2:0 харьцаагаар хожиж, хагас шигшээ тоглолтод илүүрхлээ.
Испанийн баг бөмбөг эзэмшилтээр тоглолтын хэмнэлийг бүрэн хянаж, Родри болон Фабиан Руис нар талбайн төвд тоглолтыг удирдсан бол Дани Олмо довтолгоог холбохын зэрэгцээ хамгаалалтад идэвхтэй оролцлоо. Тоглолтын хоёр дахь гоолыг Олмогийн дамжуулалтаар Педро Порро оруулсан нь багийн төгс зохион байгуулалтын илрэл байв. Испаничууд дундын шугамд давамгайлж, өрсөлдөгчийнхөө Килиан Мбаппе, Усман Дембеле зэрэг аюултай довтлогчдын эсрэг нягт хамгаалалт үзүүлсэн юм.
Багийн ахлагч Родри тоглолтын дараах ярилцлагадаа баг нь бөмбөггүй үедээ ч гайхалтай тоглож, өрсөлдөгчийнхөө тоглолтыг бүрэн хааж чадсаныг онцоллоо. Тус баг 4-2-3-1 болон 4-4-2 хувилбаруудад шилжин тоглож, Алекс Баэна зэрэг тоглогчдын тусламжтайгаар жигүүрийн хамгаалалтаа найдвартай хадгалав. Испанийн өндөр прессинг болон хамгаалалтын шугамын нягт ажиллагааны үр дүнд Франц тоглолтын 81 дэх минут хүртэл хаалга руу чиглэсэн цохилт хийж чадсангүй.
Ийнхүү Испани энэ удаагийн Дэлхийн аваргын долоон тоглолтын зургаад нь хаалгаа хуурай манаж, тэмцээний хамгийн тэнцвэртэй, цогц тоглолттой баг болохоо баталлаа. Луис де ла Фуэнтегийн олон жилийн турш бүрдүүлсэн тактикийн систем нь энэ удаагийн ялалтын үндэс болсон бөгөөд тэдний бөмбөг эзэмшилт болон сөрөг довтолгооны хослол Францын эсрэг төгс хэрэгжсэн юм.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
There is often little to choose between two teams competing in a World Cup semi-final, meaning a piece of magic from an attacking player or a careless mistake from an opponent can be the difference between victory and defeat.
That is not how things panned out in Spain’s 2-0 victory over France, in a fascinating contest that saw few instances of individual moments.
Instead, there was beauty in the collective effort as Luis de la Fuente’s side posted one of the most complete, well-rounded team performances of the entire tournament.
This is how they did it.
Spain’s possession-dominant style is woven into their identity, and it played a core role in staving off the attacking threat of France’s dangerous front four of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola and Michael Olise. The logic is simple: if you do not have the ball, you cannot inflict the damage you want to.
The experienced Rodri and Fabian Ruiz comfortably won the midfield battle, supported by Dani Olmo, who would neatly stitch play together while offering his own defensive bite when Spain did give up possession.
Full-backs Marc Cucurella and Pedro Porro were often the release valve when Spain were under pressure, supporting the build-up and getting forward in attack when the opportunity arose — as they have done all tournament.
The strong foundation that Spain had in possession is shown below. The anchoring Rodri and Ruiz stayed central, while their team-mates created a front five to overload France’s back line and stretch them across both touchlines.
So much of Spain’s performance was built upon their calmness and dominance on the ball. The balance of Spain’s structure in their passing network is a sight to behold, with connections across the pitch that have a near-perfect symmetry.
Olmo’s deftness of touch to set up Porro for Spain’s second goal epitomised Spain’s cultured performance on the ball, but the fact that Spain’s performance was not always aesthetically pleasing will arguably please De la Fuente more.
The European champions won 56 per cent of their duels and 68 per cent of their aerial battles, dominating France in the uglier side of the game as well as with their on-ball qualities.
“We wanted to stop them playing and bring the game to our terrain,” Spain captain Rodri told TV Espana after the game. “And the team played sensationally well, I’d say even better without the ball than with it. We stopped them from playing, with our pressing, our working. It was a very complete game by everyone.
“It was a very demanding game, we needed the help of everyone, and Fabian and Dani were sensational in the middle with me against a very physical team. We had to be aggressive, win the second balls.”
De la Fuente’s side showed multiple sides to their defensive acumen, stifling France in different ways depending on the situation. Olmo’s aforementioned tenacity was on show in the first half where Spain — setting up in a 4-2-3-1 out of possession — pounced quickly with three bodies around the ball when a sharp turn from Mbappe broke their defensive line.
Within seconds, the ball is turned over before Spain can regain control of the tempo.
Spain would drop into a 4-4-2 when sitting deeper, but left-sided attacker Alex Baena was excellent at supporting Cucurella when France looked to unleash Dembele (or later, Olise) on their right flank. The 24-year-old made six ball recoveries across the game, which was more than the three group-game appearances combined.
Baena would occasionally drop into the defensive line to form a back five to support Cucurella, allowing his left-back to track the runs of France’s Jules Kounde and close the spaces that France were looking to exploit — either on the outside or attempting to come infield.
Spain’s high pressing has been a theme of their tournament, and they almost profited from a turnover of possession in the attacking third in the first half.
While it might go down as a mistake from France goalkeeper Mike Maignan, look at how Spain press man-for-man to force the error — restricting any passing options before pouncing themselves to create a lucrative opportunity.
Add in Spain’s disciplined defensive line — catching France offside four times — and the occasional sweeper-keeper actions from goalkeeper Unai Simon, and it truly showed how multidimensional De la Fuente’s side were in shutting the back door and keeping a sixth clean sheet in seven World Cup games this summer.
France’s first shot on target did not come until the 81st minute, and even that was a speculative effort from substitute Desire Doue.
For Spain, this is a nation whose possession-dominant football is deeply rooted in their culture — and has been the foundation of their success in the 21st century — yet they are one of the best counterpressing teams in international football..
This is a squad that is packed with individual quality, yet the biggest compliment you can pay to Spain is that their collective cohesion is their biggest strength.
This is a manager who has worked within the Spanish national team set-up for over a decade, working with the under-19, under-21 and under-23 squads since 2013 before stepping up to senior manager and coaching many of the players in the current squad during their youth-team days.
There is an unequivocal balance to Spain’s play both in and out of possession, and it is a style that has been years in the making. Their performance against France was the perfect microcosm of how complete they are.
