Spain vs. Switzerland — Spain’s monotonous approach is outlasted by the Swiss

This Spanish side needs to pick up the pace!

Spain controlled the pace throughout their Nations League bout with Switzerland. As is custom of Spain’s gradual build-up style, they dominated possession by retaining it for about 75% of the match. This is to be expected, as the Spanish side averaged a 72.5% possession rate over the past calendar year, but they found little creativity against their Swiss opponents. Even with the large discrepancy in possession, Switzerland matched Spain’s total shots, mainly capitalizing on set-pieces since open-play opportunities ran scarce. Fittingly, both of Switzerland’s goals came from corner-kicks. Jordi Alba was able to use his pace in open space to strike a shot in mid-game, but Spain’s distribution was not forward-thinking enough. 452 of Spain’s 790 total passes were either lateral or went backwards, as they took their time to dictate the tempo. In contrast, the Swiss squad pounced at every opportunity with the ball. Manuel Akanji headed in Switzerland’s first goal, but he was also the centerpiece of their counter-attacking efforts, as depicted by his 11 long-balls and his team-leading 39 passes and 6 clearances. To give a clearer understanding of Spain’s lack of attacking urgency, they dwarfed Switzerland’s total passes 790 to 262, but the Swiss squad managed 12 more long-balls. Spain’s nonchalant attitude will hopefully be jolted into action for future matches in preparation for the 2022 World Cup.