Spain came in for harsh analysis from the media following their 2-0 defeat to Scotland on Tuesday. While there was an acknowledgement that it is too early in Luis de la Fuente’s reign to judge him, the press certainly were not impressed. Following an interview with Joselu Mato though, concern over the direction of the Spanish national team is only likely to grow.
La Roja were criticised not just for their performance, but their own lack of self-criticism in the aftermath of the match. Rodri Hernandez blamed the Scottish team’s gamesmanship, de la Fuente put the defeat down to two accidents, and Joselu Mato said they simply didn’t have the luck on their side.
They were also criticised for their lack of defined style, but speaking to Cadena SER, Joselu claimed it was an advantage.
“We can play in different ways. Yesterday, for example, Scotland changed their system, we thought they would play four at the back, but they played three central defenders.”
“No matter how much tiki-taka you do, it all depends on putting the ball in the net. The squad we have allows us to play in different ways against different teams. Also, within each game there are mini games. The good thing is that we can vary during the game.”
While he can argue his case on styles, the analysis of the Scottish side should be of concern to Spain fans. While it is true that Scotland played four at the back for three games in September against Ukraine twice and Ireland once, those were outliers.
It has been a feature of Steve Clarke’s time at Scotland playing with three/five at the back, and the four at the back system was employed in the absence of Andy Robertson through injury. The Kieran Tierney-Robertson partnership on the left has been far more regular.
In fact, of the 23 games that Scotland have played over the last two years, only those three have featured a back four that Joselu mentioned. While systems are flexible and interpretable, it highlights a clear lack of proper opposition scouting from Spain.
