Del Bosque admits Spain had "poor day"
Reuters - Monday 18 June 2012, 22:18
Lorded as the aristocrats of the
beautiful game, Spain found themselves involved in a street
fight against Croatia on Monday before reaching the Euro 2012
quarter-finals with a fortunate 1-0 victory on a nervy night.
When Jesus Navas finally broke the deadlock after 88 minutes
the overriding emotion was relief rather than joy after the
holders flirted with a defeat that would have sent them tumbling
out of the tournament.
On the positive side Spain proved the old adage that great
teams can find a way to win when not playing at their best
although as the minutes ticked away in the Group C clash they
appeared caught between not losing and trying to win.
"We had a very tough game today and we got through it and
the important thing even when you have a poor day is that you
keep advancing in the tournament," Spain coach Vicente del
Bosque told reporters.
"We didn't have that many options going forward tonight. Our
first touch let us down at times and that robbed us of speed and
intensity," said Del Bosque.
Croatia, who hardly got a kick in the opening 25 minutes,
grew in stature and had several excellent chances after the
break and a penalty claim when Sergio Busquets tugged at Vedran
Corluka's shirt as a cross arced towards the defender's head.
DISCIPLINED CROATIA
Defeat was harsh on Slaven Bilic's side who produced a
highly-disciplined performance which disrupted Spain's normal
smooth passing patterns and ended with them employing three
strikers as they sensed a chink in their opponents' armour.
They depart from the finals to start a new era with Bilic
having already signed up to coach Lokomotiv Moscow.
"The game plan was to thwart Spain in the first half and
have a go at them in the second," he said.
"It worked. We did everything right except score. We came
here to go all the way and we failed because we lacked that
tiny bit of luck that makes all the difference."
At times a nervous hush descended over the 38,794 fans
inside the spectacular arena as the arithmetic of Group C was
calculated over and over again.
While Spain knew a draw was enough to take them through to
the last eight, they would have surrendered top spot in the
group to Italy but for substitute Navas's late strike.
News of Italy leading against Ireland meant Croatia had to
gamble, and they did, sending on Nikica Jelavic and Eduardo in
the second half to join Mario Mandzukic up front.
BELOW-PAR SPAIN
Impressive as they were in the 4-0 hammering of a hapless
Ireland side, the group phase has not seen Spain at their best
with a 1-1 draw against Italy to start with and then a
stuttering performance against Croatia.
Tellingly, it was substitutes Cesc Fabregas and Navas who
combined with Andres Iniesta to break Croatia's resistance with
Fernando Torres, who scored twice against Ireland, cutting a
frustrated figure before being replaced on the hour.
Whoever the Spaniards play in the quarter-finals, whether it
be France, England or co-hosts Ukraine from Group D, their
opponents will take heart from Spain's sometimes panicky display
against Croatia.
Final passes went astray more than normal, players appeared
reluctant to shoot when in good positions and there was a
worrying loss of concentration at times in defence.
Croatia will rue the moment just before the hour when the
light-footed and quick-thinking Luka Modric got clear down the
right and produced an exquisite cross for the unmarked Ivan
Ratikic to head goalwards only for goalkeeper Iker Casillas to
somehow keep his effort out.
Nevertheless, despite a relative off-night, Spain remain on
course to become the first team to retain their European title.
Should they go on to lift the trophy in Kiev they will no
doubt reflect on how tough it was to get past Croatia.