Colombia suffered Spain’s first defeat in nearly a year on Friday, beating Spain 1-0 in a friendly match in London. Crystal Palace defender Daniel Munoz scored in the second half after a fine run from Luis Diaz to capitalize on La Roja’s disappointing performance ahead of this summer’s European Championships in Germany. Spain won the Nations League last year after winning Euro 2012, ending an 11-year run without a trophy, but suffered their second defeat under head coach Luis de la Fuente. Poor performance.
The first came in March 2023 when Scotland’s Euro 2024 qualifying defeat cast early doubts over the manager’s qualifications, but over the following months, That concern has eased.
De La Fuente opted for an experimental lineup against Colombia, giving Athletic Bilbao defender Dani Vivian his debut at the heart of the defence, while allowing captain Rodri and others to make his debut rest.
On Thursday, the coach said he hoped Spanish football could win admiration despite the Spanish federation’s recent turmoil. He made headlines this week when police raided the headquarters of the Spanish Football Federation as part of a corruption investigation.
However, Spain struggled against Nestor Lorenzo’s Colombia, who are unbeaten in 20 games in more than two years.
“You learn more from losses than from wins, and it was a very tough game,” De La Fuente said.
“We did a good job in some areas, but we need to improve in other areas, especially starting in the second half.”
La Roja did cast a pall in the first half, with Alejandro Grimaldo’s cross leading to Vivian’s header and Grimaldo sending in several danger Gerard Moreno’s volley was saved by Colombian goalkeeper Camilo Vargas.
Colombian supporters made up the majority of the crowd and were sometimes pulled to their feet by Liverpool winger Diaz.
Former Real Madrid playmaker James Rodriguez further galvanized the Colombian fans when he came on at half-time to turn the tide in Los Cabteros’ favour.
‘Still growing’
Alex Remiro tipped over one of Rodriguez’s shots and another went over and South America now took the lead.
In the 61st minute, Diaz broke through from the left and passed to the back post. Munoz scored with an acrobatic shot and the team took the lead.
Tottenham defender Pedro Polo almost equalized but his volley hit the side netting.
De la Fuente made his debut in the final stage with 17-year-old Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsi, becoming the second youngest player in Spanish history behind club and country teammate Lamine. Lamine Yamal.
Spain failed to equalize when Mikel Merino’s late shot went over the bar. They play another friendly against Brazil next Tuesday at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
“They were chasing us little by little in the second half, but their goals came from great individual moves,” Moreno said.
“We have to work, analyze ourselves, improve.”
Colombia will face Romania on Tuesday as they continue to warm up for this summer’s Copa America.
“In the second half we started showing we wanted to play,” Diaz said.
“We’re preparing for the future… We’re still growing.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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