Could it really be that Enrique is saving his “secret weapon” for the next games? thinks Anssi Karjalainen.
Barcelona’s Ansu Fati hasn’t played a single minute in the World Cup yet. Zumawire / MVPhotos
As expected, Spain’s general manager Luis Enrique relied on his attacking trio, which had overwhelmed Costa Rica, also against Germany. Dani Olmo, Marco Asensio and Ferran Torres know how to read each other’s movements, make position changes and thus make it difficult for the opponent’s bottom line to work.
Especially in the opening period, Germany succeeded in its most important task, defending its own penalty area. WhoScored statistics website from the heatmap you can see how Spain’s opening attack trio of Olmo-Asensio-Torres was practically unable to break into the German penalty area.
Only the replacement of Torres for Álvaro Morata brought results. Morata would seem to be an excellent weapon, at least in the role of a substitute.
Still, one offensive end player was completely without minutes for the second time. Where is Ansu Fati?
The FC Barcelona winger has been plagued by injuries this season and has been played very sparingly in La Liga. But surely Enrique wouldn’t have taken the injured player into the race car?
From Fat, Spain could get a weapon that would make it even more powerful.
Looking at La Liga’s advanced stats this season, Barcelona’s prodigy shines in utterly superior style. In the statistics of performances leading to goals, Fati is the best in the entire league, when the statistics are compared to 90 minutes of play.
In addition, despite his limited playing time, Fati has created a chance to shoot seven times with his passes. Only Real Madrid’s Rodrygo (8) and Valencia’s Samuel are ahead (8). Per 90 minutes, Fati has taken the second most shots on goal and has created a goal expectancy of 0.92. When removing penalty kick goals from Robert Lewandowski’s statistics, is number one in Fati’s statistics.
Against Germany, Spain broke 12 times from the left side into the attacking third – mostly with the help of Jordi Alba and Olmo. From the left intermediate lane it broke three times, from the right side lane only once.
It’s hard to see that the functional link on the left side would at least be broken by the duo Alba–Fati.
Álvaro Morata showed his worth and completed the 1-0 goal for Spain. EPA / AOP
Fati’s speed, ability to challenge and play in tight spaces create a threat that Olmo, Asensio or Torres cannot provide. As a right-footed player, Fati cuts the tap box from the left towards the box, i.e. the opponent’s goal.
So who would Enrique drop from the opening? Olmo’s versatility and expertise in the top ten will almost certainly keep him in the lineup in the future. So the eyes are on Asensio and Torres.
Now the whole kingdom is wondering about Fati’s lack of play. Could it really be that Enrique is saving his “secret weapon” for the next games?
It’s at least clear that Spain doesn’t fall for the material of the attacking end in these roughs, even though they’ve tried hard to paint such devils.