La Roja are yet to concede in this tournament, the same feat achieved by their predecessors who won in 2010
Spain have played five games and 450 minutes so far in this tournament and are yet to concede. It is eerily similar to the 2010 World Cup, when their predecessors, Spain’s golden era of that decade, conceded only twice in two games in the group stage, and then kept clean sheets throughout the knockout stages, winning the final 1-0 against the Netherlands.
There is a bit more to pull out of a comparison between the two sides. Both sides had won the Euros before arriving at the World Cup, and both sides played Portugal in the round of 16 and won 1-0.
There are a couple of things that make Spain so hard to play against. One is their midfield, which keeps a vice-like grip on proceedings. It has a Ballon d’Or winner in Rodri alongside a generational midfield talent in Pedri. Occasionally, these are partnered by Fabian Ruiz, who is part of Luis Enrique’s loved-up premium-ball Paris Saint-Germain team.
The other thing is the backline. In central defence there is the youth, technique and talent of Pau Cubarsi coupled with the experience of the stalwart Aymeric Laporte. In the full-back positions are Marc Cucurella, who has just joined Real Madrid from Chelsea in a €60m fee, and Pedro Porro, who is quite frankly, a really solid, really dependable player.
In goal there is Unai Simon, who has now kept a cleansheet in 560 World Cup minutes stretching back to Qatar 2022. This has made it difficult, practically impossible, to drop him, even though he is facing the most incredible competition from two of the best goalkeepers Europe has to offer: David Raya, a consecutive Premier League Golden Glove winner, Premier League champion, and Champions League finalist, and Barcelona’s Joan Garcia.
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In this form, Spain face Belgium in the quarter-final on Friday, and Thibaut Courtois knows how difficult it is going to be. “The first thing we have to do, is score,” said the Real Madrid goalkeeper.
So far no one has. Out of the five teams they have played, Cape Verde and Portugal have posed the most challenge. The former tested Simon once in the dying stages of their impressive opening draw, and a second, dangerous-looking attempt was deflected off Dani Olmo. Against Portugal, Nuno Mendes rattled the crossbar.
What Spain do is they keep the ball with defenders and midfielders who are highly comfortable in possession and can find a clear pass under serious pressure. They work the ball slowly forward and then try to bring their attackers into play. They have Lamine Yamal and Mikel Oyarzabal up front, one exceptional youth and the other a really talented and experienced player who makes this team tick. Between them, they have scored the majority of the side’s goals so far.
How will Belgium cope? How will anybody? That remains to be seen. For now, it is clear that it has to take something exceptional to keep this Spain, these European champions, from clinching the World Cup trophy, just like their predecessors did.
