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Yeremy Pino walked out of the Guadalajara stadium with his left arm in a sling, while Nico Williams limped with an ice pack strapped to his thigh. Winning 1 0 against Uruguay secured the top spot in Group H.
Jeremy Pino walked out of the Guadalajara stadium with his left arm in a sling, while Nico Williams limped with an ice pack strapped to his thigh. A 1-0 win over Uruguay secured top spot in Group H.
There was no scent of champagne in the dressing room after the victory. On the night of the win, Spain lost both of their wingers.
With 67% possession and only one shot on target from six attempts, the sole goal came from Baena's tap-in in the 42nd minute, thanks to Muslera's fumbled save. Uruguay managed five shots, also with just one on target. Calling it a "controlled and steady victory" was too generous; both sides were grinding in the mud, with Spain simply enjoying a stroke of luck.
De la Fuente praised Pino after the match, saying, "He was in great pain; finishing the game was heroic."
De la Fuente called it heroism. But with all substitution slots used up, Pino had no choice but to stay on the pitch.
In the 65th minute, Pino replaced Baena. In the 76th minute, Nico Williams replaced Yamal. When Pino hit the ground hard on his left shoulder in the 88th minute, Spain's five substitutions had already been exhausted long before.
A player with a suspected collarbone fracture was forced to run for another ten-plus minutes. Unable to move his left arm, he could only swap positions with Ferran Torres to avoid contact. The cost of exhausting all substitution slots was written in every cringe and shoulder-dodge Pino made.
De la Fuente's substitution planning was a ticking time bomb from the start. In the second group-stage match against Saudi Arabia, he made two substitutions at halftime, two more in the 61st minute, and Fabián Ruiz replaced Pedri in the 70th minute, using all five slots twenty minutes before the end.
Nico Williams had been struggling with pubic bone inflammation and hamstring issues all season. In the second World Cup match, he was pushed onto the field to regain match fitness. Four days later, against Uruguay, he came off the bench again in the 76th minute. After a reckless tackle from Nicolás de la Cruz, his thigh gave out completely.
De la Fuente called it "muscle overload and fatigue."
Having a player who missed 20 games in a season play two substitute appearances in four days was a recipe for muscle failure. The coaching staff had bet all their attacking options on one gamble, leaving no backup plan.
Nico is likely out for the tournament. The injury chain had been tightening around his neck all season: pubic bone inflammation plagued him throughout, a hamstring strain in the 36th minute against Valencia on May 10 was diagnosed as a "moderate injury to the left posterior muscle group" with a three-to-four-week recovery period. He entered the World Cup with this injury, didn't play in the first match against Cape Verde, came off the bench for 61 minutes against Saudi Arabia in the second, and got injured again in the third against Uruguay.
According to Transfermarkt data, his market value has dropped from €70 million last year to €40 million, a 43% decline.
Pino's collarbone is suspected to be fractured, essentially ending his knockout-stage participation. In his first season at Crystal Palace, he managed only 2 goals and 2 assists in 34 Premier League matches. His body was already not in peak condition, and Spain has lost a bench option that was already thin in depth.
Víctor Muñoz has recurring issues with his left soleus muscle. He suffered a strain in April, felt discomfort after returning in May, and was confirmed to have a small-area edema in the same spot on June 19. He has been following a personal recovery plan during the World Cup and hasn't played a single minute in the group stage.
Yamal, at 18, had 16 goals and 11 assists in La Liga, earning the league's season-best award. But he also came to the World Cup with groin and hamstring issues. He started against Uruguay and was replaced by Nico in the 76th minute. Whether it was a tactical adjustment or a precautionary substitution, only the coaching staff knows.
Among the 26-man squad, the only pure winger who can reliably deliver may be Oyarzabal. At 29, the Real Sociedad captain has been directly involved in 30 goals in 33 games under De la Fuente. In the match against Saudi Arabia, he had 2 shots and 1 assist in 24 minutes. A player who has long played second fiddle to Spain's prodigies now has to single-handedly shoulder the entire wing.
Ferran Torres has been converted into a center-forward by Flick at Barcelona, scoring 16 goals with 2 assists in La Liga this season, and 21 goals in 49 appearances across all competitions. Pushing him out wide would waste half his effectiveness.
Five goals in the group stage sounds decent. But breaking it down, four came against Saudi Arabia. Oyarzabal contributed 2 shots and 1 assist in 24 minutes, and Cucurella's deflected shot forced an own goal in the second half. Spain simply overwhelmed a team with a loose defensive structure.
The two truly telling matches were the ones that mattered. Against Cape Verde, Spain had 27 shots, 7 on target, 74% possession, and the score was 0-0. The 27 shots without a goal tied a World Cup group-stage record. A journalist from the Associated Press hit the nail on the head: "Possession like a masterclass, finishing like a blank test."
Against Uruguay, Spain had 6 shots, 1 on target, and won 1-0 thanks to a goalkeeper error.
There's only one real measure of attacking quality: after all substitutions are used up, is there anyone left on the pitch who can break down a defense with individual brilliance?
Looking at the attacking output across the three group-stage matches, it's a cliff edge. Flowing offense against weak sides, but immediate silence against teams that sit deep and use physicality. And this was when the entire attack line was healthy.
In Group J, Austria and Algeria both seemed unwilling to win in the final round. Sky Sports analyzed that the teams were "competing to lose." The group's second-placed team will likely face Spain, while the third-placed team might face Switzerland.
Opponents are avoiding you.
And your offense is already half-broken.