Spain lost in Kiev to Ukraine a game in which the Red paid excessively for their lack of goal. The selection did not play its best game, but enough to generate clear chances to score and take the victory. However, the lack of a goal that this team has begins to be worrying.
Goal is the most important word in football. It is synonymous with joy, happiness and usually, victory. Without a goal, there is neither joy nor happiness nor a chance to win. No matter how well a team plays, if they don't score, the rest are of little or no use. Well, that's what happens to Spain. And not against Ukraine in Kiev, if not for a long time. The 4-0 that the Red achieved against the Ukrainians at Di Stéfano was a mirage because the reality of this team is that they have an alarming lack of goal. And that is very important for many hot packs that want to put that lack. In big events, like the Eurocup, if you arrive without a goal, you go home at the first change.
The selection has already shown against Portugal and Switzerland that the goal does not go with it and in Kiev it showed it again. Yes, he creates chances, some very clear, but it is difficult for Luis Enrique's team to score and it helps to score. The Asturian tried Adama, Rodrigo and Ansu Fati to end that drought, but not even like that. Adama is a gale that sweeps away all the rivals that cross it; Ansu is smart when it comes to moving around looking for holes, but he seems to have lost his nerve against rival defenses; and Rodrigo gives him mobility and quality to the attack. But that was not enough in Kiev to take all three points and further cement the group lead in the Nations League.
In addition to changing the attack, Luis Enrique put Canales in the eleven to give him more ball speed and imagination in the center of the field, but all that was the theory because in practice, Spain worked hard. A lot of possession, but little verticality and when he created chances, he ran into Buschan, the goalkeeper called in a hurry by Shevchenko because of the losses of the three goalkeepers on the list. The Ukraine coach was right because Buschan avoided goals from Rodrigo, Ansu Fati and Sergio Ramos. Three clear occasions in the first 20 minutes in which Spain was passing over a completely disappeared Ukraine.
It seemed that the Spanish goal was close, but he went from that feeling to see how the Red was fading in the final stretch of the first half and even came close to seeing how Ukraine had a golden opportunity to score. It was in the 35th minute when Jesús Navas committed a possible penalty on Zubkov that the referee, a meter away, did not hesitate to signal nothing. Thus, without goals and with a Spain that went from more to less, it was halftime.
The second half began with Luis Enrique removing Merino to enter Ceballos looking for that last pass in the defensive zone. However, what Spain found was a completely different Ukraine, more offensive and taking off the complexes shown in the first half. The game entered a crazy phase, without a clear dominator and, deep down, more fun for the spectator. Luis Enrique, seeing the panorama, opted for Oyarzabal and Ferran Torres, removing Ansu and Rodrigo from the field. La Roja returned to control the game while Ukraine tried against it.
Brand Ukraine
La Roja, with control of the game, again generated chances to score, but they stayed at that, on occasions and not on goals. The one that did see the door was Ukraine, who scored 1-0 in the 76th minute through Tsygankov, who took advantage of a poor decision by De Gea in an outing to score.
From there, Spain had no choice but to go with everything, desperately for a draw. As during the whole game, he generated chances but not even with Sergio Ramos as a center forward, the Spanish goal came. Neither arrived and Spain left Kiev with an unexpected and worrying defeat.
Graphic: SofaScore
Ukraine, 1
Buschan; Karavaev, Zabarnyi, Mykolenko, Sobol; Sydorchuk (Kovalenko, m. 60); Makarenko, Sharapenko, Yarmolenko, Zubkov (Tsygankov, d. 65); and Yaremchuk.
Spain, 0
De Gea; Navas, Sergio Ramos, Pau Torres, Reguilón; Merino (Ceballos, m. 46), Rodri, Canales (Dani Olmo, m. 74); Adama, Rodrigo (Oyarzabal, m. 58) and Ansu Fati (Ferran Torres, m 58).
Goals: 1-0, Tsygankov (m. 76)
Referee: Pawel Gil (Poland).
Stadium: Kiev Olympic. 15,000 viewers