50 min Morata elbows Glik in the jaw while trying to shield the ball. That looked exceedingly painful. There was no VAR check for a potential red card, but I’d like to watch a replay to see whether it was deliberate.
49 min Poland have started the second half aggressively, pressing high up the field. They did the same in the first but were slowly passed into submission by Spain.
48 min “Regarding Wilson’s column…” says Kari Tulinius. “The main benefit of the 24-team format is that it’s rare to be eliminated after two games. The type of match I dislike the most at a major tournament is when an already eliminated team has to trudge back on the field. The absolute worst is when it’s two eliminated teams, a feel-bad version of the third-place playoff. The current format means these are few and far between.”
Ha, good point. Every World Cup seems to have a 23rd-place playoff.
47 min “Barney Ronay’s article was perfect,” writes Marz Waltz. “Especially his comparison of fanless football with mechanised sound to American Cheese (America’s most embarrassing product). During the shutdown I got used to it but he is right that it’s a football ‘product’, not the real thing. I am finding the Copa America almost impossible to watch without fans.”
46 min Peep peep! Spain begin the second half, with no changes on either side.
“How do you rate J Alba esq?” asks Henry C esq. “I could be wrong but he seems to have been around for ages. But usually plays well and provides great crosses. Not as fast as he used to be - watch his goal vs Italy in the final in 2012.”
Peep peep! Spain lead through a goal from Alvaro Morata, who had a bit of help from the third, fourth and fifth letters of his first name.
Although Spain dominated, Poland had a decent penalty appeal turned down early on and hit the post just before half-time. If Poland don’t score in the second half, they will be out of the tournament.
45 min: Now Moreno misses a great chance! Jordi Alba breaks down the left in familiar style and slides an inviting low pass towards the six-yard box. Moreno gets in front of Szczesny at the near post but then flicks the ball into the side netting.
43 min: Double chance for Poland! It should be 1-1. Swiderski cut inside on his left foot and hit a vicious low drive that thumped off the post. The ball rebounded to Lewandowski, who controlled it and smashed a close-range volley that was somehow blocked by Simon. It was a vital save but Lewandowski should have scored.
Poland’s Robert Lewandowski shoots at goal. Photograph: José Manuel Vidal/Pool/Reuters
42 min Spain have had 77 per cent pof the possession, it says here. Standards are slipping.
39 min “Seen a reasonable amount of Pedri for Barcelona this season,” writes Ben Kybett. “It’s really striking the amount of trust Messi has in him (not something that necessarily applies to all the current Barca squad), always seeking him out for little interchanges around the area. Footballing recommendations, you feel, do not come a lot higher. He’s the real deal; whether he can show it in this mildly creaky Spain team, we shall see.”
He’s been fairly quiet tonight but it’s obvious he’s a class act. On Messi, one of football’s unsung pleasures is trying to infer who the great players do or don’t rate in their team.
37 min Klich is booked for a foul on someone or other.
35 min: Chance for Poland! Lewandowski breaks down the right and crosses towards the near post. It’s blocked but the ball comes to back to Lewandowski, who waits for some movement and then coaxes another cross towards Swiderski in the six-yard box. He twists his body and sidefoots an acrobatic volley over the bar. He was unable to get over the ball, and it’s a bit strange that he didn’t attack it with his head. He probably saw Simon in his peripheral vision; that’s all I can think of.
Photograph: David Ramos/Pool/Reuters
34 min Moreno curls the free-kick fractionally wide of the left-hand post. On reflection, Szczesny probably had it covered.
Gerard Moreno of Spain takes a free kick. Photograph: Marcel Del Pozo/Pool/EPA
33 min Dani Olmo is fouled in the D by Glik. This is a really good chance for Spain to get a second.
32 min That goal should allow Spain to relax a bit more in possession. At the moment they are in complete control of the game.
30 min The quick, effective use of VAR has been one of the features of this tournament, and that goal was another example.
29 min A reminder that if Poland lose tonight they will be out of the competition.
28 min “I pity the managers of both sides if they fail to win,” says Anis Aslaam. “Paulo Sousa will probably be feeling the heat if Poland lose this. Don’t forget, he was hired after qualification for the Euros was achieved and since day one, his only victory has been against David Nugent’s favourite opposition, Andorra. As for Luis Enrique, big jobs come with big expectations and one of those would be to conquer Group E.”
27 min Alvaro Morata has caught a much-needed break, and the first thing he does is run over to hug his manager Luis Enrique.
Spain players celebrate as Alvaro Morata runs over to his manager Luis Enrique. Photograph: Julio Munoz/Reuters
Who he gives an appreciative hug. Photograph: Marcelo del Pozo/Reuters
It really was tight: the goal has been given! Morata was just being played onside by Bereszynski.
25 min: Morata has a goal disallowed for offside! Moreno came infield, hugging the ball on his left foot, and drove a mishit shot across goal. Morata reacted smartly to turn it in from six yards, but then the flag went up for offside. This is very tight actually.
Spain’s Gerard Moreno shoots ... Photograph: David Ramos/Pool/Reuters
Which Alvaro Morata turns into the net. Photograph: José Manuel Vidal/Reuters
24 min The pace of the game is getting slower by the minute.
23 min “Monday, January 31st, 2011,” weeps Matt Dony. “Desperate for work after my cleaning business had seriously struggled, I had taken a nasty little job in a sales call centre. After my week’s training, I had just finished my first day on the phones. It had been hideous. I had spent three (increasingly frustrating) hours on the phone to HMRC due to some problems with my Self-Assessment submission.
“Mrs Dony was away, leaving me at home on my own. My dinner that night was Super Noodles and Carling. I didn’t have Sky Sports, so I was getting my updates from a live blog on Yahoo. It was one of the saddest, most depressing evenings of my life.
“Torres leaving had been signposted since the summer, but it hadn’t actually been confirmed before the 11pm deadline. In theory, at one point, Carroll, Suarez AND Torres were all on Liverpool’s books. But I knew it was over. And it hurt. Thanks for bringing it up. Why don’t you give me a paper cut and pour lemon juice on it?”
21 min Spain are well on top now, even if their domination has a whiff of sterility. Poland are struggling to get out.
Gerard Moreno of Spain (left) tussles with Tymoteusz Puchacz of Poland. Photograph: David Ramos/Pool/EPA
20 min “Hi Rob,” says Peter Oh. “What do you reckon Cristiano Ronaldo thinks of Koke?”
Not as much as he thinks of this fella.
19 min: Chance for Rodri! A Spain corner leads to a bit of a scramble until Rodri, eight yards out, has a fresh-air shot. That was a really good chance.
17 min The corner is played short to Koke, whose fast cross is headed away.
16 min Tiki-taka-tiki-taka-tiki-taka. Eventually Olmo swings a cross beyond the far post. He tries to hook it back across the face of goal and the ball goes behind off Puchacz. Corner to Spain...
14 min Poland’s tactics are interesting: 3-1-4-2 with the ball, 5-3-1-1 without. We’ve seen more of the latter in the last few minutes.
13 min Spain are starting to fire up the passing carousel. After a long spell of possession, Pau Torres tries to score from 35 yards. No.
10 min Olmo steals the ball off Jozwiak, cuts inside and drives a low shot from the edge of the area. Szczesny crouches to make a comfortable save.
10 min “Got to admit, I’m glad Spain aren’t playing Ferran Torres,” writes Matt Dony. “Every time I see ‘F. Torres’, or I hear a commentator excitedly say ‘Torrrressss’, my heart hurts a little bit. I don’t think I’ve ever loved a footballer like I loved Fernando.”
I’d love to have seen your face when you found out he’d been sold to Chelsea and replaced by Andy Carroll.
9 min Moreno’s low cross is half blocked by Bednarek at the near post and then cleared properly by Klich. The tempo of this game is terrific.
6 min A lovely effort from Klich. He picks up a loose ball 30 yards out, moves forward and whips a dipping shot that lands on the roof the net. Simon was at full stretch, though I don’t think he had it covered.
5 min It’s been a busy, confident start from Poland, which has taken Spain a bit by surprise.
3 min: No penalty! That could have gone either way. Maybe it wasn’t a clear and obvious error, but I think that would have been given in the Premier League last season.
2 min: Big shout for a Poland penalty! Morata gives the ball away in a dangerous area, then tries to make up for his error with a clumsy challenge from behind on Zielinski. The referee looked set to blow his whistle, and then didn’t. I’m sure this will be checked.
Poland’s Piotr Zielinski goes to ground after a challange from Spain’s Alvaro Morata. Photograph: Lluís Gené/Pool/AP
2 min It looks like the same 3-1-4-2 formation for Poland, with Jakub Moder replacing the suspended Krychowiak in front of the back four.
1 min Peep peep! Poland, in white, kick off from right to left. Spain are in their usual red strip.
The players line up for the anthems. It’s a gorgeous evening in Seville, sunny but with a pleasant breeze.
Some of the Spanish fans enjoy the sunshine in the stadium. Photograph: David Ramos/Pool/EPA
“If I’m Pedri (which I’m a distance from being), I’m thinking: ‘How many gilt-edged chances to I have to create for Morata to finish one?’” says Bill Hargreaves. “I’m being mean, I know - all forwards suffer a level of missed chances - but is Morata less reliable than other big team strikers?”
He’s a strange player – at his best he’s a brilliant, modern No9, but his confidence is so fragile.
Poland will look, as usual, to Robert Lewandowski tonight. His record in big tournaments is modest, two goals in 12 games I think. This would be a good time to address that statistic.
The Poland fans will be hoping that Robert Lewandowski has brought his scoring boots with him tonight. Photograph: David Ramos/Pool/Reuters
“Since the days of David Villa and Fernando Torres,” begins Charles Antaki, “the national team has tried (I looked it up) Álvaro Negredo, Roberto Soldado, Fernando Llorente, Iago Aspas, Paco Alcácer, Diego Costa, Lucas Vasquez, Rodrigo … Not one established himself, so it’s no surprise that there’s been a change today. After Moreno, Adama Traoré is presumably the next in line, and it’s maybe a bit surprising that he hasn’t been thrown on already.”
Spain and Poland fans having themselves a time before the game in Seville. Photograph: Jose Luis Contreras/Dax/ZUMA Wire/Shutterstock
Uh-oh
And the scapegoat is... Ferran Torres, who has been replaced by Villarreal’s Gerard Moreno. That’s Spain’s only change from the draw against Sweden.
Poland make three changes from the team that lost to Slovakia. Brighton’s Jakub Moder, Tymoteusz Puchacz and Karol Swiderski replace Karol Linetty, Maciej Rybus and the suspended Grzegorz Krychowiak.
Spain (4-1-2-3) Simon; M Llorente, Laporte, P Torres, Alba; Rodri; Koke, Pedri; Moreno, Morata, Olmo. Substitutes: de Gea, Sanchez, Azpilicueta, D Llorente, Thiago Alcantara, F Torres, Garcia, Gaya, Fabian Ruiz, Traore, Oyarzabal, Sarabia.
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Spain v Poland in Seville. This is the final game of Matchday 2, but the big picture isn’t getting much clearer. Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands are the only teams definitely through to the knockout stages; North Macedonia are the only ones to have been eliminated. But Poland will join them in the departure lounge if they are beaten in Seville.
Poland’s 2-1 defeat to Slovakia in the opening game means they need at least a point tonight. Spain’s start was underwhelming for different reasons. They redefined sterile domination in their 0-0 draw with Sweden, when some analysts credited them with 86 per cent possession. (Uefa had it at 75 per cent, and no I don’t know why there’s a disparity.) We’ll find out soon whether Alvaro Morata, or any of the other attackers, have lost their place as a result.
Kick off 9pm in Seville and Stockholm, 8pm in London.
from Football | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3gLKaqb
via IFTTT
No Comment