Spain boss dismisses finishing concerns amid David De Gea error in draw with Switzerland

Sport360 staff 07:39 04/06/2018
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  • Spain coach Julen Lopetegui dismissed concerns surrounding his team’s finishing ability after a rare mistake by David De Gea meant they were held to a 1-1 friendly draw with Switzerland.

    Alvaro Odriozola’s fine first-half volley represented the sole occasion they capitalised on their superior creativity in Villarreal, despite the way they largely dominated possession.

    De Gea uncharacteristically then gifted an equalising goal to Ricardo Rodriguez when fumbling a routine shot into his path, potentially robbing Spain of the momentum they hoped to build before the World Cup begins.

    They face Tunisia in a final friendly next Saturday before their World Cup opener against neighbours Portugal on June 15.

    They will hope to more clinical in those matches than they were against the Swiss, but Lopetegui said the Spain football team’s official website: “The most difficult thing is to generate chances.

    “The team has done a lot of good things, we have not been lucky on the occasions we have had; there will be days when we will take better chances.

    “I liked that we were able to create a lot of chances (against) a difficult team like Switzerland. We’ve maintained a very high level, we had to adjust some things at half-time, but in general we have many positive things, no injuries and we continue preparing to arrive in perfect condition to the World Cup.

    “Of course there are things to improve, but that is what we discussed in the dressing room, we have to face the second week of preparation and keep working.”

    Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic said in quotes reported by L’Equipe: “This kind of result is important against a very strong team, we have resisted and it is the result of our work.

    “We must be able to reproduce over 90 minutes what we have achieved in the first half, be more precise and leave less space.”

    They are still to face Japan in a friendly on Friday before their World Cup campaign begins against Brazil, but expect the injured Granit Xhaka to make an imminent return to training.

    “I am confident that Xhaka will be back with us from Tuesday,” Petkovic said.

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