After his second match, a devastating 2-0 loss to Scotland in Glasgow, Luis de la Fuente's extraordinary revolution as the new coach of Spain's national team ended. He said, "It's a difficult defeat, and we must improve."
Although it's fair to say that Scotland has significantly improved under Steve Clarke and that they were clearly on top of things from the moment Scott McTominay gave them the lead in the seventh minute, Spain was unable to match them and was forced to leave the field in Glasgow after an embarrassing performance that raises many doubts about their future.
After Spain's 3-0 victory over Norway on Saturday night to open their European Championship qualifying campaign, hopes were high for the former Under-21 coach De la Fuente. Joselu scored two goals five minutes after coming on as a late substitute.
Nonetheless, it's possible that this outcome gave Spain and their coach a false sense of security. Until Joselu's goal in the 83rd minute, which made it 2-0, Norway had an excellent chance to tie the score on Saturday. If Erling Haaland hadn't been hurt, those chances would have resulted in a game with a completely different outcome.
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While it's undeniably true that De la Fuente's team was more direct than the one that circled under Luis Enrique before falling to Morocco in the World Cup's round of 16 in Qatar, they also gave their opponents more opportunities to score, necessitating several times for Kepa to be alert in the Spanish goal.
Mikel Merino and Rodri made an impact in the midfield and returned to action in Scotland. But since Sergio Busquets left the Spanish national team, the team needs a man who can slow down play and hold the ball when it matters most.
Scotland raised the red flag if Norway had received warnings but ignored them. De la Fuente made eight adjustments to the team that defeated Norway, with just the central midfielders and Kepa remaining in their positions. This may have been done to avoid overworking players with over three-quarters of the season.
He would have been disappointed if he had anticipated that fresh legs would help them defeat their rivals. On the kind of heavy, slightly bumpy field that one would expect in Scotland in March, their opponents set out to harass and harry the Spanish, with Andy Robertson forcing Pedro Porro to slip to set up McTominay for the game's opening goal.
In contrast to the highly determined Scots, Spain never seemed composed, never imposed their rhythm, and could not slow the ball down. The defence and midfield were well-organized, and despite Joselu's unfortunate shot off the crossbar at 1-1, they rarely looked like they were being overwhelmed.
In other words, the worst of both worlds didn't exist: neither did the control of the Luis Enrique era nor the menace they had posed to Norway!
It should be noted that no midfielder picked up McTominay's deep runs in either of Scotland's goals after Dani Carvajal took over for Porro at halftime, leaving him to finish behind Kieran Tierney in the standings buildup to Scotland's second goal.
After the second goal, De la Fuente's team found it challenging to get back into the game, with only halftime substitute Nico Williams appearing to have a chance.
Jeremy Pino played briefly, while Real Madrid's Dani Ceballos promised to create before being sidetracked and caught in petty disputes with the Scottish. Iago Aspas, a well-liked candidate to rejoin the team, struggled to find his spot on the field and seldom got the ball.
With the Uefa Nations League Final Four and a semifinal matchup against Italy coming up, De la Fuente's situation could be better. The Spanish press is not patient with its national team coaches, and a loss to Italy will undoubtedly result in the sound of knives being sharpened. He needs to discover a style of play, and he needs his players to adapt to it.
