Katz J.: The Swiss are young and playing loose with house money, at home. No pressure with already having gotten this far. The more this game goes on without Spain steamrolling them, the more pressure will be on the Spanish. I do not like how creaky Spain’s defense has been and how they don’t seem to respond well to pressure. Yes they blitzed through the group stages, but you see the cracks here and there.
Ernest A.: Spain looks terrible and very similar to Barcelona in the UCL final against Arsenal. Passing into clogged lanes, rushing shots, and also simultaneously playing with little urgency.
Anonymous: It seems the missed penalty has gotten to Spain mentally. Huge possible advantage if Spain can’t get their stuff together in the second half. That mixed with home-team advantage smells strongly of disaster.
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