The new Spain wins, convinces and knows how to suffer

Romania 1 – 2 Spain

Many expectations in this new Spain from Robert Moreno. Although these September national team meetings are always backwards, because the transfer market has just closed and the clubs have had the first contact shots, they are important matches. More than anything because the qualification for the 2020 Eurocup that takes place next summer is at stake. And today it was not a simple place for the premiere of the coach already at the controls of the ship. Romania is one of the main rivals of ours in the group to achieve classification. The meeting was already beginning with news worthy of note. The first in the goal, where Kepa Arrizabalaga has taken ownership of David De Gea. A first symptom of change that will have important consequences, especially for the goal of Manchester United, if this remains. We also saw in the lineup the consolidation of Fabián Ruiz in the eleven, to Dani Ceballos of false left end (like Iniesta in times not far away) and to Paco Alcácer in tip, because its great state of form is evident. Jesús Navas also won the game against Dani Carvajal on the right side, probably looking for more depth on that right wing. And with this Spain was planted in the National Arena of Bucharest.

The idea of ​​the Red with this 4-3-3 that sometimes changed in 4-4-2 was to have control of the game. Although the fact that both teams pressed up to block the exit of the ball from behind the rivals caused that there were many spaces and a game more vertical than expected. That and the concessions of the Romanians in defense, which led in the first minutes a good accumulation of occasions followed by the national team, through the aforementioned Alcácer, Rodrigo that started from the right wing and to Jordi Alba, who joined the attack with enough frequency. At that moment the figure of the best player of the first part, the goalkeeper emerged Ciprian Tatarusanu, who broke several clear occasions. So many to avoid a win already in the first act. Only Sergio Ramos (29 ’) was able to tear down the wall after a penalty to CeballosOf course, the controversial Aytekin saw better than everyone else.

GOOOOOOOOOL OF SPAIN !!!

Brand @Sergio Ramos from eleven meters!

| 0-1 | 28 '| #UnidosPorUnRETO pic.twitter.com/FYx7VXbvsU

– Spanish Soccer Team (@SeFutbol) September 5, 2019

The German referee left, of course, his seal when admonishing the one of Camas for the celebration. Surely the card that has least deserved in his career, go paradox. The captain scored again from eleven meters to tear down the wall of the aforementioned Tatarusanu, which would not fall more times in that first part. After the goal Romania managed to leave the cave to which Spain had confined it with its possession and control. Busquets, which began erratically, took over the center of the field well supported by Saúl Ñíguez and Fabián. The pace was slow, typical of preseason, but Spain was worth it to continue finding its sensations and waiting for automatisms that will have to arrive. It is the beginning of the season and the feeling that the team is still testing is latent. But the symptoms at rest were good: high pressure, lines together, good combination of control and depth and few errors in the delivery of the ball.

Control and scare

The result was therefore short, probably from the field, and especially because of the large number of accumulated occasions. However, this allowed Spain to leave concentrated and as soon as the second part began, the Red extended the distances with a goal from Paco Alcácer, which pushed a great choral play into the net in which Dani Ceballos invented a master pass to Jordi Alba to calmly assist the striker of Borussia Dortmund. A play of tiralíneas that without a doubt has let us glimpse what should be the great game that the new coach wants to deploy, with a quick game between the lines to find spaces and deactivate the rival. A goal that brought tranquility to the Spanish side, although the entire second part was ahead.

HIT, HIT, HIT, HIT! GOOOOOOOOOOL OF SPAIN!

Brand @ paco93alcacer after beautiful triangulation with @Jordi Alba Y @ DaniCeballos46!

| 0-2 | 47 '| #UnidosPorUnRETO pic.twitter.com/AtX9W6zaM1

– Spanish Soccer Team (@SeFutbol) September 5, 2019

Spain continued trying to control the game, but little by little the duel was entering an absolute tedium of the preseason itself and also with many players with the mind set perhaps not to fall into injuries and to reserve for future games. This, together with one of the laziness that the Spanish rear showed, still the result of the normal tests of this time, caused the goal of Florin Andone when the game time was reached. The Romanian forward opportunist was hunting a ball after several rejections that Spain did not know how to take out to end all danger. So Romania cut distances and squeezed, when Moreno began his dance of changes giving entry to Mikel Oyarzabal and Pablo Sarabia. Both with that idea of ​​giving more control to the game, surely, facing the final leg of the game. And a clear commitment to renewal and youth that we see in this coach.

But with the game seemingly dominated, in 79 'an unexpected move came from those that make one remember not to have finished the games before. Diego Llorente saw the red one by committing a foul on the front, being the last man and avoiding a clear chance of danger after a loss of Oyarzabal's ball that caught everyone out of place. Romania took advantage of one of those cons to create danger and left Spain with ten in the final stretch. Ciprian Tatarusanu had also allowed that possibility with new stops at the start of the second part. Mario Hermoso came in to defend in the last minutes, in which it was key to endure the result. Because the Romanian occasions were going to arrive, although at that time the figure of Kepa Arrizabalaga was key, with spectacular interventions before Puscas, to which he took two frank shots in just one minute. It seems that it will be difficult to unseat the Basque from ownership …

After that scare and those miraculous interventions of Kepa, Spain wanted to avoid more scares and made the party die in rival area. To ensure in this way three points in this complicated place, keep full of victories and first place, and get a little closer to the European Championship. On Sunday, an a priori procedure against Faroe Islands at home, which should serve to continue improving aspects of this Selection that looks good, has convinced (before a somewhat weak rival in defense) but has suffered a lot in the end. You also learn from that. The road is still long but new and exciting things are seen. We will see how far.