Spain suffered their first defeat in almost a year after they conceded a narrow 1-0 defeat to Colombia in an international friendly in London.
A dismal performance from La Roja was exploited by Crystal Palace defender Daniel Munoz in the second half, following a brilliant run by Luis Diaz. This was done in advance of this summer’s European Championship in Germany.
After winning the Nations League the previous year and going 11 years without winning a trophy after their victory at Euro 2012, Spain did not perform well in their second defeat under head coach Luis de la Fuente.
The first occurred in March 2023 with a loss to Scotland in Euro 2024 qualifying, which raised early questions about the coach’s suitability for the position. Those doubts subsided in the months that followed.
In an experimental lineup against Colombia, De la Fuente rested captain Rodri and gave Athletic Bilbao defender Dani Vivian his first start in the centre of defence.
The coach expressed his optimism on Thursday that the national team’s football will garner attention in spite of the ongoing unrest within the Spanish federation, which has made headlines this week due to a corruption probe that resulted in a police search of its headquarters.
But Spain could not do well against the Colombian team led by Nestor Lorenzo, who has now gone more than two years without losing 20 games.
“From defeats you learn more than from wins, it was a very hard game,” said De la Fuente.
“We did some things very well but others we have to improve, especially from the second half.”
Alejandro Grimaldo, who inserted numerous dangerous passes, threw in a cross that Vivian headed over, and Colombia custodian Camilo Vargas made a great save on Gerard Moreno’s effort to give La Roja the advantage in the first half.
The majority of the audience consisted of Colombian fans, who were occasionally called to standing attention by Liverpool winger Diaz.
After halftime, James Rodriguez, a former playmaker for Real Madrid, entered the game for Colombia to enthral his supporters even more, and he shifted the balance in favour of Los Cafeteros.
One Rodriguez strike was pushed over by Alex Remiro, and another one flew over, putting the South American team ahead.
After 61 minutes, Munoz finished with an incredible effort after Diaz burst down the left wing and crossed to the back post.
Pedro Porro, a defender for Tottenham, nearly levelled the score but volleyed into the side net.
In the closing minutes, De la Fuente substituted Pau Cubarsi, a 17-year-old Barcelona defender who made his debut and became the second-youngest player in Spanish history, behind teammate Lamine Yamal for both club and nation.
Mikel Merino missed a late opportunity to equalise as Spain was unable to find a reply. They play another friendly against Brazil on Tuesday in Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
“They pegged us back bit by bit in the second half (but) their goal came from a great individual move,” said Moreno.
“We have to work, analyse ourselves, improve.”
Colombia face Romania on Tuesday as they continue their warm-up for this summer’s Copa America.
“In the second half we set out to show we wanted to play,” said Diaz.
“We are building well for what is to come … we’re still growing.”
Photo by Spain Twitter page
