Joselu, a veteran of a thousand battles, made his debut in the national team and solved Spain’s numerous problems at the last minute. The forcefulness of the result, finally 3-0 on a public holiday, invites optimism that was not matched by the team’s performance. Luis de la Fuente has a lot of work. It was necessary to change half the team, the five players who played in front of Rodri, to shake up the game and overcome Norway, who for an hour played better and finished worse than Spain.
Four months after the World Cup and with a new manager, this valley period of Spanish football continues, quite insipid, without differential players. He leaves this match without a team of indisputable starters. A wide sector of criticism claimed players who did not go to Qatar, but their return to the team did not change the general behavior. Aspas went unnoticed, Merino did not add clarity in the midfield and the doubts that dragged Spain into the international concert remained.
It took little time for Spain to score and even less time to lose control of the game. Norway says little in football. It lacks history, unlike its neighbors. Sweden was a major power in the 1950s and Denmark has enjoyed brilliant times. Norway was associated with skiing and the sports typical of its latitude, but not with football, where its selection deserved discreet consideration. Honest, mechanical football and little else. It is no longer the case.
Norway produces competent players these days and enjoys two undisputed stars. One is Håland, who did not play against Spain. Odegaard is the other. Gone was the youthful upstart who hadn’t quite crossed the line that separates big details from consistent performance. Odegaard is the obvious symptom of a selection that does not intimidate, but is growing. Without Håland, Norway is missing a bull. He came close to equalizing several times. Kepa Arrizabalaga, irregular in his return to the national team, avoided the 1-1 with an electric intervention, shortly after the referee made a longuis on a Rodri Odegaard penalty.
The panorama did not change until the massive entry of Spanish substitutes. In this chapter, De la Fuente was exhaustive. Gavi and Iago Aspas disappeared first. Shortly after, Merino, Olmo and Morata. So much change sounded strong, but the subtraction was necessary. From Dani Olmo’s early goal, the team lost control in all areas of the field, a disjointed team that began to show signs of despondency. No line worked, and no one rebelled against the bad drift of the match.
All the anxiety that caused the team in the last two matches of the World Cup – against Japan and Morocco – was repeated in Luis de la Fuente’s first match as coach. For now, the team does not present any noteworthy features. Good players, some very promising, like Balde, but perfectly interchangeable. No one conveys indisputable ownership. It is not a selection built on basic and well-known pillars.
Five from the bench entered the second half, when drowsiness was beginning to set in and the Norwegians’ draw was feared. A glaring error from Sorloth was enough for De la Fuente. The game looked very bad. He looked around and turned to several players he knows by heart from his time as under 21 coach – Ceballos, Oyarzabal, Fabián and Yeremi Pino – and a veteran who has played in Germany, England and several La Liga teams spanish Joselu made his debut many years ago at Real Madrid. Now he is the flagship player of Espanyol, whose fate in the championship depends on Joselu more than anyone else. No one would say the same about his role in the national team, but in his first game he arrived, saw and scored. Twice as well. Enough to erase the previous bad impression of Spain.
