Spain makes self-criticism after the win against Japan: "If there is someone responsible, it is me"

“We have not been up to the task, but if there is someone responsible, it is me”. With these words the Spanish coach, Jorge Vilda, intoned the mea culpa after the defeat this Monday against Japan (4-0). This win was the worst result for the coach since he has been in charge of the team. It was the great signal, but not the only one.

The players also accepted their mistakes as soon as the match was over. Four kickbacks were enough to prove the lack of solidity of the team. Misa Rodríguez, the starting goalkeeper, who until yesterday had managed to keep a clean sheet, acknowledged that “we knew what we were up against, but we did not expect such a result. We have needed to shoot, face more, it has not been our party. Now that we have time to improve, work, analyze what we have failed in”. His teammate Aitana Bonmatí, who had completed 50 caps as an international, added: “The result says it all, it was not our best match. Japan has taken advantage of the spaces to kill us against. Each counterattack has been a goal. We apologize, we are not proud of what we have done on the pitch.”. After the wins against Costa Rica and Zambia, after this game the image of the Spanish team is touched. It is evident that there is still a lot to correct and work on.

a weak defense

A weak defense was seen on the field of play, with an Irene Paredes who until now had acted as a lock, but yesterday it seemed that nerves had betrayed. His teammate Rocío Gálvez, who made her debut taking the place of Ivana Andrés, who was low due to discomfort, it was noted that the game was weighing on her. There was also a lack of a leader, someone to take the reins and join the lines to avoid disaster, but no one appeared.. “The team is screwed because losing a game and the way we have done it hurts,” admitted Paredes.

Vilda's team controlled possession throughout the match, but it was of no use to them, as they were unable to create any danger or even get close to Ayaka Yamashita's goal.. They only shot twice on goal in the whole game, once in each half, and it's not like Japan had many more chances, but it was more effective.. Tere Abelleira spoke about these data and the image of the team, saying: “Five days ago we weren't so good and now we are not so bad.. It may be a point to correct errors and that it does not happen to us again. We've all had mistakes, but we're in time to make amends for the round of 16.”

Mariona Caldentey also wanted to show her face, stating: “The perfect match came out for them and we were left with the frustration that nothing came out for us. Luckily little changes, because we will be in the round of 16. There is a lot to learn, a lot to improve and we are going to go after Switzerland with everything”.

Qualified despite defeat

The damages are minor, since the classification was already achieved. A draw would have been enough for Spain to finish as the group leader and hypothetically have more affordable crosses.

Now Switzerland awaits this Saturday (7:00, La 1), which has been first in group A. Perhaps it would have been worse to face off against Norway, a team that is more complicated on paper. “I am convinced that the team has a lot of anger and that it will turn into desire and face the World Cup qualifiers. It's time to digest this defeat and prepare for these round of 16. I know that we will go out against Switzerland with everything”, concluded Vilda. However, even if they go out for all the doubts, they are still in the air, and it is that Spain still does not seem prepared to face the big teams. This could be a problem if the pass to the quarterfinals is achieved, since the rival would foreseeably be the United States, a team that already eliminated Spain in the last World Cup.