If Ferran Torres scored the only Spanish goal against a weak Albania on Monday, and it is difficult to judge the tactical proposal of a formation which changes ten starters compared to its previous match, one point was striking: the use corridors. After Dani Carvajal and Marc Cucurella against Italy, two very offensive profiles were aligned. Jesus Navas on the right, Alex Grimaldo on the left.
Honor to the second, whose five passes before a shot are a record for a Spanish defender since 1980 and data analysis by Opta. As we see on his pass map, he combined a lot, almost never overturning but finding his target on the two inside passes attempted in the last 30 meters. Not so surprising for the man who has one of the best left feet in the world and who multiplies the caviars with Leverkusen.
On the opposite side, Jesus Navas also did not venture into the axis and, if he attempted half as many passes as his counterpart (33 against 63), most of them were in the opposing camp, with no more tendency to look for the axis to combine with Dani Olmo, the radiant Spanish playmaker. Even if he was unable to multiply the crosses, the man who, at 38 years and 216 days, became the oldest Spanish player to play a match in a major tournament, still has legs. And he also played the 90 minutes of the match.
After two matches where wingers Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal caused great harm to the opposing defenders, it was the full-backs who assumed the ball threat in the width. The passing network also gives a strange spectacle, with these positions off Navas (22) and Grimaldo (12), an attacking Joselu (9) who came down to block the balls and attract with him a defense whose back was attacked by Ferran Torres (11) and Mikel Oyarzabal (21), wingers never better than when it is necessary to go deep.
If Spain had possession, the fact that it only scored 59% against such an opponent is surprising. This confirms the shift taken by a team which wants to become more and more vertical and which, when it does not line up dribbling wingers, leaves the lane to centering full-backs. A useful plan B for a selection which has long seemed to think that there was only one way to win.
