Chelsea striker Diego Costa ended a near-two year dry spell at worldwide level on his way to a brace in Spain’s 8-0 win over Liechtenstein.
Advertisement
Morata, who returned to Real Madrid from Juventus in the summer, was given the nod for last week’s 2-0 friendly win over Belgium, but has dropped to the bench after picking up a knock. Costa was born in Brazil and recently chose to play for Spain after gaining citizenship.
Significantly, having played just a combined 45 minutes in France, the Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich midfielders played all 90 minutes in Belgium.
David Silva, fresh from a brace against Belgium, converted Vitolo’s ball from close range – his third in two games – before roles were reversed for a near-identical fourth for Spain.
“Little by little they have to assume that role and continue developing”.
That youthful core added to the likes of Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta and Silva still in their prime means there is no reason why Spain shouldn’t be contenders in Russian Federation if Lopetegui rekindles the hunger lost in the final years of Del Bosque’s reign.
That means there is no reason why Spain should not be contenders in Russian Federation, if the manager rekindles the hunger lost in the final years of del Bosque’s reign.
Of the 11 that started in Brussels on Thursday, nine were in Del Bosque’s Euros squad.
“I have to help in build-up play more often and sacrifice a bit more in defence, and overall I’m very happy since you can tell we’ve got off to a good start with Manchester City”, he told Marca.
Spain have always been about the collective, so it will be interesting to see how Lopetegui handles Diego Costa, who seems to grab a lot of headlines, for good and not so good reasons.
Now Spain need to show the same spirit against Liechtenstein, who Lopetegui feels will play a defensive game. Spain are likely to overrun the tiny nation and with this being a competitive game there will surely be no easing up from Lopetegui’s men.
Advertisement
“You can not ride two horses at once, we have to ride one which is this game and nothing more”, he said.
