Spain and France faced off in an international friendly on Thursday afternoon that ended with the French winning 1-0.

The meeting was the first match for each side after a unique World Cup experiences. France entered the tournament with tempered expectations, but walked away with respectability. Spain entered that tournament as one of the favorites to take home the crown, but left Brazil in utter embarrassment. The result was the need for a rebuild by manager Vicente del Bosque.

How would Spain perform in its first match under the rebuild? Would France look like the finished product promised from the World Cup performance?

Here are some observations from the match:

The End of Iker Casillas' reign?

One of the big prematch stories to develop was the start of goalie David de Gea in place of Iker Casillas. The Real Madrid keeper has struggled with his form since the Champions League final and was thoroughly embarrassed in the World Cup this past June.

His return as Real Madrid's number one has done little to regain anyone's confidence, but many expected him to keep his spot as Vicente del Bosque's keeper. At age 33, he should still have a great deal to offer if he regains his former play.

But even his position as the national team's top keeper was placed into serious doubt with start of De Gea. The keeper acquitted himself well.

Of course, Del Bosque could be checking out his options in a match that ultimately means little in the long run. Casillas could still get the start against Macedonia in the team's first Euro 2016 qualifier. This is a likely scenario, especially since he got the call-up. It is hard to believe that Del Bosque would call up his captain to sit on the bench.

Spain's New Style a Work in Progress

Spain's possession soccer had seemingly fallen off the map of respectability in recent years. While the side kept on winning, other teams seemed to find a way to shut down the former defending champs and cut off the passing channels down the middle of the park. While Spain was undoubtedly good at retaining the ball, it lacked the creativity to break down these parked defenses and many expected that Del Bosque would institute a new style in the rebuild.

But it was not to be.

In fact, the Spaniards looked a bit bewildered in the early going. They seemed unable to retain possession and when they did, the players opted for some marvelous one-touch forays filled with speed. It looked like a more direct way to play the good old tiki taka, but it seemed a bit lacking in precision.

As the game wore on, the team lost this quickness and instead reverted to its usual slow and methodical passing.

While the attack remained similar, so did the defense. There were countless times when the French countered and managed to find pockets of space behind Spain's back four. An initial goal by Karim Benzema was wrongfully ruled offside, but it was clear that France was finding the space. Eventually, Loic Remy found the opening tally for the French (ironically in a brilliant passing play that had become Spain's trademark) and it became clear that Spain still had a long way to go toward regaining its former supremacy.


The insertion of David Silva and Isco seemed to spark the Spaniards a bit in the final minutes, but it was too little too late.

Some New Additions Rise to Occasion, Others Crash

It was expected that some players would work out well for the national side and some would struggle. Of the solid performances, Dani Carvajal shone brightest. The rightback gave La Furia Roja some tremendous width and directness on the right flank as he constantly found ways to get behind the French defense. But it was not only a solid offensive display. He made a number of astute plays, particularly in the opening 45, in which he came back to bail out his teammates. Mikel San Jose came on as a starting center back alongside Sergio Ramos and looked good throughout. He made a mistake on the opening goal, but was otherwise strong in the air. He connected on well over 90 percent of his passes and won the majority of his aerial duels. Raul Garcia was arguably the weakest debutant for Spain. The Atletico Madrid man had 32 touches the entire night, but looked a bit out of his depth playing Barcelona's playing style. He barely made an impact on the match and is unlikely to feature for Spain again.

The Diego Costa Experiment Continues to Fail

Diego Costa was undoubtedly woeful during the World Cup, but many contested that he was not fully fit and that Spain did not suit his style of play. He was expected to fare better in his second stint, but the experiment is still lacking. His style of play -- which features strong holdup play, running into lanes and sprinting past defenders -- is simply not what makes Spain go. As a result, he is often found surrounding with little space to maneuver. He only connected on 71 percent of his passes and only won 20 percent of his aerial battles. Most importantly? He has yet to score a goal in a Spanish uniform.

Paul Pogba the Destroyer

The entire French side played with cohesion and verve that makes them early favorites to win the Euro 2016 at home. But there was one man that stood out among the pack. And that man is Paul Pogba. The 21-year-old is destined to be one of the best midfielders in the world for the next few years and was simply dominant throughout the game. He made one brilliant pass after another, carving out Spain's futile defense in entertaining fashion. At one point in the match, he seemingly lost possession but then conducted a brilliant spin over the ball to regain his composure.

As the game wound down, he dribbled past two Spanish defenders at the corner flag.


He finished with an 89 percent success rate.

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