In only the second game to go to A penalty shoot-out in the 2022 World Cup, Spain were beaten by Morocco after a disastrous penalty shoot-out saw Luis Enrique’s team fail to convert a single spot-kick in a 3-0 defeat after a 0-0 draw after extra time.
Right from the off, there was a surprise. Throughout this tournament, when we’ve expected Dani Carvajal to start and Marco Asensio to be benched (and vice-versa), the opposite has happened. That was the case again here against Morocco.
While Asensio got the nod over Atlético Madrid’s Álvaro Morata, despite his return of three goals in as many games, Marcos Llorente was preferred to Carvajal or his usual right-back rival César Azpilicueta. It was a gamble, and one which didn’t particularly work.
Where Morocco looked to push forward down the flanks, Spain looked to play through the middle. It limited the impact of either full-back, with Marcos Llorente often drifting in to form a back three unit alongside Rodri and America Laporte.
It was perhaps surprising that Luis Enrique felt that Llorente would be more suited to such a role than Dani Carvajal, but did reflect a versatility to the former Castilla player’s game that has thrived at Atlético Madrid. The issue was that the coach seemed to be reluctant to make the change and correct his gamble as it failed to pay off.
Marcos Llorente’s stats 60 minutes in:
4 times dribbled past
0 out of 5 duels won
6 possession losses
1 foul conceded
The theme of Atleti players not named Antoine disappointing in Qatar continues. https://t.co/QiumpwaHN5
— Sam Leveridge (@samleveridge) December 6, 2022
What else we see with each passing game is that Marco Asensio resembles more of a number nine and less of a false nine. We see more and more of him on the last shoulder of the defender, often starting his runs deeper but then run-throughbreak through.
Around 25 minutes in, he timed yet another run through to break away and fire the ball into the side netting. It was Spain’s first breakthrough, measuring up at a respectable 0.23 xG, and Asensio seemed to be the key to unlocking a well-organised Moroccan defence.
It was time that either side had found themselves loose in the box. In fact, it was Spain’s only attempt on goal from inside the box in the first 45 minutes, while Morocco only managed one themselves. It also proved to be Asensio’s only real sight of goal, and Spain didn’t have another shot inside the box until 56 minutes later.
This was a tie firmly being defined by a hard-fought midfield battle, where Pedri and Gavi’s energy was being nullified by the physicality of Azzedine Ounahi, Sofyan Amrabat and Selim Amallah.
