The summer of 2014 was supposed to be the goodbye to a generation. It was supposed to be a moment celebrate and lavish praise on a group of soccer players that had made history. Maybe they would make more history.

But it was not to be.

Spain entered the World Cup with high expectations but wound up flopping in the worst way. The team was embarrassed 5-1 in its opener against the Netherlands and became the first side eliminated from contention after a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Chile in the follow-up game. It was not the kind of goodbye arguably the greatest team ever was supposed to give its fans.

But there they were. The Spanish empire crumble and the team in need of a huge makeover.

Enter Vicente del Bosque, the man who guided the nation to the World Cup and Euro 2012 glory. He decided to stay on until 2016 to defend the Euro and was tasked with rebuilding the entire team.

His first squad after the tournament featured eight players that had not been on the team and many expected some big changes in the opening match against France.

It was a mixed bag. Spain fielded a starting XI that included David De Gea in goal, Mikel San Jose, Sergio Ramos, Dani Carvajal, Cesar Azpilicueta, Cesc Fabregas, Koke, Sergio Busquets, Diego Costa, Santi Cazorla and Raul Garcia.

It seemed like a nice mix of past champions with new blood. The additions of Garcia and Fabregas at the top looked like a way to get Costa at his best after a woeful display in Brazil. The big shock was obviously the inclusion of De Gea in goal in place of mainstay Iker Casillas. It looked like a change of guard could be underway.

But the team was far from effective in the game. France was clearly the better time while Spain languished to find an identity. It started off with brisk one-touch passing that hinted at a more direct approach. But as the game wore on, the Spanish resorted to the usual side-to-side possession play that lacked an end product. The end product was so lacking that Spain did not even get a single shot on target in the entire match. The defense continued to look frail and the team looked weak on setpieces.

The second game against Macedonia was not expected to be as big a test as against France, and some believed that Spain would have an easier time asserting itself against the European minnows.

And they were not disappointed. Spain started with Iker Casillas, Ramos, Raul Albiol, Juanfran Torres, Jordi Alba, Fabregas, Busquets, Koke, Paco Alcacer, David Silva and Pedro leading the way. The team dominated its match against Macedonia from the get-go. The team wound up with 67 percent of possession, but managed eight shots on target and one off the post.

The possession play was a lot more clear this time around as Spain passed quickly and with greater movement toward the opposition's goal. The pressing, which had died down in recent months, was back to its best, and for a while, the team managed to keep the Macedonians locked in their end. By the 17th minute, it was 2-0, but could have been more if not for some misses.

The rhythm died down a bit as the game progressed, but then Spain decided to run right at Macedonia and constantly found space on the flanks to exploit. Alba was particularly active and it was through this means that he set up the fourth goal by Silva.

Silva was arguably the most important player in the match. He not only had 124 touches, but was constantly creating and finding space behind Macedonia's defense. If not for some poor finishing from Pedro, Silva would have set up a few more goals.

The most promising part of this performance was that the flow of the game oscillated constantly with the Spanish in firm control of the tempo. If they wanted to slow down the game, they resorted to their short passes. But that did not last long as the team was constantly threatening the opponent's goal with every wave of possession.

And all of this was done without Andres Iniesta, who would undoubtedly be a far greater threat in place of Pedro up front.

But all is not perfect. Spain's defense was better than it was against France (that likely has to do with the opposition), but it also looked weak throughout. There was a lengthy spell of possession in which the Macedonians bossed Spain relentlessly. This led to the eventually penalty goal for the Eastern Europeans. At the start of the second half, they had a chance to score a second, but Casillas made a big save to keep it at 3-1. Casillas would get tested a number of other times there after.

Speaking of which, Casillas had a solid game overall. He made six saves and completed 88 percent of his passes. But he still continues to lack confidence on crosses and corners. He seemed more willing to come out of his box to challenge the aerials, but instead of catching them, he opted for punching them away. It was a solid performance, but not one without some trepidation.

The second performance certainly showed that Spain can be dominant once again. But it is a small test in a long line of bigger ones to come.

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