Spain Advances as Group Winner but Draws Scrutiny over Midfield Play

Spain secured first place in Group H and a round-of-32 match against Austria after completing the group stage. The squad spent nearly a month training in Chattanooga, Tennessee, before moving to Long Beach, California, for the next round.

Midfield questions surface Spain’s midfield produced fewer progressive passes than several other teams during the group stage. Rodri completed 328 passes at a 93.7 percent success rate, yet only 11.9 percent of those passes advanced the ball at least 10 yards or into the penalty area.

The coach stated after the Uruguay match that the team needed to create imbalance in different areas of the pitch and move the ball more effectively. A midfielder who started against Uruguay completed 19 passes in 60 minutes and recorded no shots or chances created.

Schedule and next steps Spain will play Austria on Thursday in Los Angeles.

Further matches, if the team advances, are scheduled in Dallas, Los Angeles and Dallas again. The squad posted on social media that it would miss the Chattanooga training base after nearly a month there.