Spain - The lowest scoring team to win a World Cup

Pisco Sour

Just looking through the stats from all the World Cups and Spain are the lowest scoring team of all the World Cup winners:

1930: Uruguay - 15 goals in 4 games
1934: Italy - 12 goals in 5 games
1938: Italy - 11 goals in 4 games
1950: Uruguay - 15 goals in 4 games
1954: West Germany - 25 goals in 6 games
1958: Brazil - 16 goals in 6 games
1962: Brazil - 14 goals in 6 games
1966: England - 11 goals in 6 games
1970: Brazil - 19 goals in 6 games
1974: West Germany - 13 goals in 7 games
1978: Argentina - 15 goals in 7 games
1982: Italy - 12 goals in 7 games
1986: Argentina - 14 goals in 7 games
1990: West Germany - 15 goals in 7 games
1994: Brazil - 11 goals in 7 games
1998: France - 15 goals in 7 games
2002: Brazil - 18 goals in 7 games
2006: Italy - 12 goals in 7 games
2010: Spain - 8 goals in 7 games

I'm not sure exactly what this says about this team but I found it interesting nonetheless.

Xavi6

It shows they have a great defence.

Pisco Sour

Xavi6 wrote: »

It shows they have a great defence.

Not exactly what they were supposed to be renowned for though. And certainly not what we were all celebrating 2 years ago.

Bodhisopha

It also says a lot about how teams lined up and conducted themselves against them. Some of what i saw from the Dutch in the first half was absolutely disgusting.

Pisco Sour

Bodhisopha wrote: »

It also says a lot about how teams lined up and conducted themselves against them. Some of what i saw from the Dutch in the first half was absolutely disgusting.

Surely a great team should be able to overcome that though. Its not like the Brazilians of 1970, Maradona in 86, the Dutch of the 70's weren't subjected to the same treatment.

Xavi6

04072511 wrote: »

Not exactly what they were supposed to be renowned for though. And certainly not what we were all celebrating 2 years ago.

Indeed, but it has always been an attribute of the side that has been overshadowed by their attacking prowess.

Piqué is the only newcomer to the back five from two years ago and if anything he has improved what was already an excellent backline.

By not conceding they take some of the pressure of those forward players.

Yakult

Imo the only good defence Spain have is Iker Casillas. Without him behind those goons I can see them losing but only if the other team can maintain the ball from Spains amazing midfield.

Bodhisopha

04072511 wrote: »

Surely a great team should be able to overcome that though. Its not like the Brazilians of 1970, Maradona in 86, the Dutch of the 70's weren't subjected to the same treatment.

They did overcome it m8. They are World Champions. Where you been?

tolosenc

It says a lot about the finals themselves as a spectacle.

More teams playing like Spain would be absolutely dreadful for spectators, particularly those in marginal markets (read: USA).

bonerm

It shows they can control the ball like MF-ers and that this scares their opponents shítless.

davyjose

it shows how good Xavi and Iniesta are, because some of those spanish players are genuinely average.

Lol at the sun with their "Four best players in the world ... and Xavi" bull**** a few years ago. Looking at Messi for argentina, it says a few things to me - Xavi could possibly be better more important than him, IMO.

tolosenc

R_H_C_P wrote: »

Imo the only good defence Spain have is Iker Casillas. Without him behind those goons I can see them losing but only if the other team can maintain the ball from Spains amazing midfield.

Agreed, without Casillas tonight Holland would have scored at least 1. Paraguay, Portugal and Chile games could have been very different too. Top notch player, the key man to Spain's success.

cooker3

davyjose wrote: »

it shows how good Xavi and Iniesta are, because some of those spanish players are genuinely average.

Lol at the sun with their "Four best players in the world ... and Xavi" bull**** a few years ago. Looking at Messi for argentina, it says a few things to me - Xavi could possibly be better more important than him, IMO.

It was the daily mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1113507/The-best-players-world-Xavi--Ronaldo-crowned-king-football.html

Not bad for such a terrible defence to not concede 1 goal in the knock out stages including against a team who scored 13 goals in 5 matches. Terrible indeed.

eagle eye

Xavi6 wrote: »

Indeed, but it has always been an attribute of the side that has been overshadowed by their attacking prowess.

Piqué is the only newcomer to the back five from two years ago and if anything he has improved what was already an excellent backline.

By not conceding they take some of the pressure of those forward players.

Its more than simply a case of the back five, their midfield is brilliant at winning ball back when they lose possession. Everybody in that midfield knows their job and they press immediately once they lose it.

The defense looked shaky at times when the ball got through to the opposition forwards but they are a class defense in fairness. Busquests has made a huge difference to that team as far as breaking up play is concerned.

Lukker-

Shows how dull this World Cup was.

GLaDOS

Shows how teams will concentrate more on not losing that winning imo

Reganio 2

Bodhisopha wrote: »

It also says a lot about how teams lined up and conducted themselves against them. Some of what i saw from the Dutch in the first half was absolutely disgusting.

Yeah but they didn't play Holland's 1st half in every game. They played Switzerland, Honduras and Portugal. 3 really bad teams (Portugal had been really poor) and in them 3 games they scored 3 goals(2 against Honduras and 1 against Portugal) for an apparently free flowing attacking side.

ScienceNerd wrote: »

Shows how teams will concentrate more on not losing that winning imo

But Chile and Paraguay were praised for their attacking intent and their score 1 more attitude. They scored 1 against Paraguay (Last second) and got 2 against a 10 man Chile (None with the player sent off in the 40th minute or so) even though Chile got 1.

keane2097

Spain can't control how teams set up against them, and most everybody puts 9-10 men behind the ball against them.

Brendog

Also the first team to win the world cup with a single digit number of goals..


just shows that they are lazy......and spanish

Mac Masters

keane2097 wrote: »

Spain can't control how teams set up against them, and most everybody puts 9-10 men behind the ball against them.

In fairness Spain set up with 4 defenders and 2 DMs so they were hardly positive, with all their time wasting and flopping too, not to mention they kept making little fouls and then tracking everybody back to flood the box, just look at that game how often did Holland get a freekick at the half way line so that Spain could get everybody back! So Spain can hardly say they played fair either!

KerranJast

I blame the Dutch for the majority of what went awry last night. They were persistently fouling meaning Spain couldn't get any kind of rhythm going. Then you have some of the crazy "tackles" they made. Because Webb refused (or more likely was too pressurised) to send a Dutch player off in the first half, it only encouraged them to continue. It also meant Spain started to play up a bit to try and force the refs hand. Villa was marked by 3-4 Dutch players at times. There were a good few chances but Casillas at one end and the Dutch defense at the other did very well. Also Torres is woefully out of form so Spain had no way of changing their attack.

Summary: Dutch thuggery caused stop start match and Spain were unable to break down packed Dutch rearguard.

A Primal Nut

6 clean sheets in a row is impressive. 788 minutes without conceding a goal. People talked Italy's world cup win being won on defence four years ago. Everyone expected it to be different this time with all the good attacking sides - Spain, Brazil, Holland, Germany and Argentina. But it didn't work out like that.

daithijjj

After looking at thread title, i wreckon casillas is gonna score bigtime very soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9WOtUL90xM

prinz

It shows their whole game strategy is to keep the ball for 89 minutes and try to nick a goal. Could easily have been beaten last night but for Casillas. Btw thought the Dutch were marginally the worse team last night for dirt. The Spaniards were at it as well, should have been 3 or 4 booked for surrounding the ref and complaining looking for cards too.

Dolph Starbeam

In fairness they did score 8 but you have to remember that Torres had a terrible tournament, just down to his lack of match fitness, if he had of been fully fit and in form i reckon it might have been a bit better.

missingtime

tolosenc wrote: »

It says a lot about the finals themselves as a spectacle.

More teams playing like Spain would be absolutely dreadful for spectators, particularly those in marginal markets (read: USA).

By this do you mean that Spain are boring to watch?

Turtyturd

As much as I have grown to dislike the Spainish team over the course of this tournament I feel that they would have had a higher goal tally if they didn't attempt to walk to ball into the net from every attack.

#15

keane2097 wrote: »

Spain can't control how teams set up against them, and most everybody puts 9-10 men behind the ball against them.

Spain deliberately force teams to put people behind the ball.

Their style of play is designed to keep the opposition pinned back deep in their own half, partially to reduce the severity of any potential attack on their own defence.

Their execution, discipline and technique are second to none, and regardless of whether you love or detest the way they play, it's clear that they actively pin teams back.

It's part of their gameplan - so can we please kill this idea that Spain don't want teams sitting back against them?

They actually want teams to sit back, it plays right into their hands.

The_Kew_Tour

Spain were best team in world cup. I dont think they care how the hell they won it once they did.

I didnt care when Ireland won no game in 1990 all I wanted was success. Sure it be nice to win in style but hey it's a result business.

ziggy

This post has been deleted.

Shanotheslayer

Here we go again with the Spanish hate

/sigh..

#15

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

Here we go again with the Spanish hate

/sigh..

FFS there were only one or two irrational posts on the prev page. Hardly any hate at all.

:rolleyes:

Reganio 2

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

Here we go again with the Spanish hate

/sigh..

Here we go again with the having a discussion about something

/sigh

God forbid we discussed something on this site.

tolosenc

#15 wrote: »

Their execution, discipline and technique are second to none, and regardless of whether you love or detest the way they play, it's clear that they actively pin teams back.

THIS. They have a poor defence(Holland would have won the Cup but for a moment of luck for Casillas. Dunphy was saved from public Seppuku), so they keep the ball in midfield.

missingtime wrote: »

By this do you mean that Spain are boring to watch?

For me, yes, by and large. I really liked the look of Jesús Navas, don't get me wrong. Their "patience" causes a lot of people to switch off. Coupled with the fact that they basically do one thing the entire match - never a long ball, never a charge down the wing, never a chip over the last defenders, never try to take anyone on - allows for teams to just sit and defend the same thing time and time again. It's either pass, or hit the deck(whether or not you're fouled).

Anyway, this has been done to death. People disagree with me, and have tried to parade me as an idiot, so that's the end of the "Spain are boring" bit for me.

Basically, I could sit and watch Germany all day - that's how football should be played.

#15

tolosenc wrote: »

THIS. They have a poor defence(Holland would have won the Cup but for a moment of luck for Casillas. Dunphy was saved from public Seppuku), so they keep the ball in midfield.

You know, I'm not sure. I think Spain were worth their win over Holland.

It wouldn't have been great to see Holland kick their way to a win either.

JohnnyRyan99

The fact that they only scored 8 and won the World Cup is a tremendous acheivment.. Every team knows the Spanish are prone for there attacking prowess so they shut up shop... But this is just the way football has gone, people have been crying out for better games and were constantly whining over poor performances, unfortunelty this was just a World Cup where teams dared not to lose instead of going out for the win. IMO

kinaldo

Can we just all agree that Spain play brilliantly effective WINNING football?

Also, for the past 4 years up until this World Cup, when Torres and the rest were firing on all cylinders, Spain were hammering teams.

I'd love to see the exact stats of goals for and against, but I know it's mighty impressive. I think it's now 53 wins out of 55 games so I don't see how you can really fault them.

#15

kinaldo wrote: »

Can we just all agree that Spain play brilliantly effective WINNING football?

Also, for the past 4 years up until this World Cup, when Torres and the rest were firing on all cylinders, Spain were hammering teams.

I'd love to see the exact stats of goals for and against, but I know it's mighty impressive. I think it's now 53 wins out of 55 games so I don't see how you can really fault them.

Yeah, I don't think anyone can argue against their effectiveness. They are winners, no doubt about that.

It's just a bit tiring when you're called a Spain hater just because you don't love their style.

I dislike the conservatism they showed in the WC, it's effective but I expected more from them.

From a results POV, obviously you can't expect more than winning the WC.

But I would have liked to see them play a more open and expansive game; with their players, they can certainly do it.

They are not as dynamic or spectacular as Barcelona, for example.

I think Spain would still have won the WC had they played less conservatively.

It really is annoying to be labelled a Spain-hater when I don't actually hate them.

The only issues I have is the conservatism and caution of their play. You could ask why we don't criticise other cautious teams to the same extent. But that's because we almost expect to be bored by limited teams like Switzerland, etc.

When you have the most talented team in the world, you (at least I do anyway) expect more from them.

irishh_bob

Brendog wrote: »

Also the first team to win the world cup with a single digit number of goals..


just shows that they are lazy......and spanish

thats one thing you couldnt accuse this spanish team of being

i believe thier lack of goal scoring prowess could be explained by thier missing a real centre forward

irishh_bob

#15 wrote: »

Yeah, I don't think anyone can argue against their effectiveness. They are winners, no doubt about that.

It's just a bit tiring when you're called a Spain hater just because you don't love their style.

I dislike the conservatism they showed in the WC, it's effective but I expected more from them.

From a results POV, obviously you can't expect more than winning the WC.

But I would have liked to see them play a more open and expansive game; with their players, they can certainly do it.

They are not as dynamic or spectacular as Barcelona, for example.

I think Spain would still have won the WC had they played less conservatively.

It really is annoying to be labelled a Spain-hater when I don't actually hate them.

The only issues I have is the conservatism and caution of their play. You could ask why we don't criticise other cautious teams to the same extent. But that's because we almost expect to be bored by limited teams like Switzerland, etc.

When you have the most talented team in the world, you (at least I do anyway) expect more from them.

spain = conservative football :eek:
italy = conservative
greece ( 2004) = conservative
brazil ( under dunga ) = conservative

you obviously have a very different definintion of the word than i do

evad_lhorg

west germany - 25 goals in 6 games 1954. holy crap

Pisco Sour

evad_lhorg wrote: »

west germany - 25 goals in 6 games 1954. holy crap

Thats scewed by the fact that they played a very bad Turkey team twice and scored a sack full in both those games. And also the ridiculous system FIFA had in place in 1954 where all Group winners went on one side of the draw and all runners up went on the other side of the draw. So Hungary had to battle past Brazil and Uruguay while Germany eased past Yugoslavia and Austria scoring plenty in the process.

An exhausted Hungary got done 3-2 in the final.

Hungary scored 25 goals in just 4 games before the final. That trophy should have been theirs.

#15

irishh_bob wrote: »

spain = conservative football :eek:
italy = conservative
greece ( 2004) = conservative
brazil ( under dunga ) = conservative

you obviously have a very different definintion of the word than i do

Clearly we do.

You are mixing up defensive with conservative.

Not the same thing at all.

Barcelona are an example of a team employing the same style as Spain, without being conservative.

Or more accurately, Spain are like a more conservative version of Barcelona, who are much more dynamic in their employment of tiki-taka.

dsmythy

Well when the other team rarely has the ball they aint gonna be doing much scoring now are they.

Shanotheslayer

Reganio 2 wrote: »

Here we go again with the having a discussion about something

/sigh

God forbid we discussed something on this site.

It's nothing to do with having a discussion, it's to do with Spanish hate, by all means discuss, I had one with Prinz on the other thread and we both ended up agreeing, no spanish hate on that thread, just a discussion between how different people look at Spain.

I was implying a thread like this would bring Spanish haters.Not Implying that the OP was one.

KerranJast

#15 wrote: »

Or more accurately, Spain are like a more conservative version of Barcelona, who are much more dynamic in their employment of tiki-taka.

To use Rugby parlance, Barca have a line breaker in Messi. Spain in this WC had noone who could pull out a bit of magic to dance through a packed defensive line. Xavi, Iniesta and Villa did pretty well to make up the shortfall. Also because Torres was woefully out of form, they had no really option to use wingers to zip in crosses. Navas tried in the final but the Dutch had 3 players on Villa in the centre and he's not the most physical player.

mormank

R_H_C_P wrote: »

Imo the only good defence Spain have is Iker Casillas. Without him behind those goons I can see them losing but only if the other team can maintain the ball from Spains amazing midfield.

ok im sorry i realise this thread is old news now to most of you but i only came across it today and i have to disagree with this and the other comment that withouyt casillas they wouldnt have won the worlp cup. Let's be honest, spain have the best number 2 and number 3 keepers in international football right now, it is probably their strongest position in fact for strength in depth. How anybody after all this not rate carlos puyol is beyond me?? He is so under rated by many many people imo. As is ramos and the rest of the spanish efence to be honest.

The key thing about the spanish defence however I( feel is that they do not defend in the traditional sense as they avoid coneding goals because of the huge amount of posession thy keep over the course of the game meaning less pressure on their defence so I guess if you look at the efenders man for man they my not be the best defenders in the world however as a team defending from the front so to speak, so few teams in the world do it better thn spain right now.