I agree with your first and last lines, but disagree with the middle part. Passing the ball around creates the gaps that the defenders are trying to block. Last night proved that as the Portuguese plugged lots of gaps but eventually the Spanish started to find more gaps.
As they used to say as you plug one gap another opens somewhere else. That is very true and is correct....the way Spain play is that they create an opening but do not shoot unless it is more or less certain the shot can be on target. The English way of doing things usually (not in this tournament it is true) is to get as many balls as possible into the danger area therefore creating chances, whether slim, half or full blown chances. The more you create the odds actually start to go in your favour. Where as with the Spanish and some other teams they might only create 2 dead cert chances in a game, but if they go in.........Holding the ball is more in every teams locker these days and some do it better than others. Having 2 banks of four is not the best way to achieve keep ball though. Movement off the ball is what counts for doing that ......
Spain didn't create a clear cut chance until extra time. Spain are great until they get to the final third when no one makes runs between or around defenders and they end up going sideways until the defenders are back in position and prepared to give them very little change. It's very hard to score when the defenders are back waiting for you to make a move. Until Pedro and Navas came on to add some pace and penetration, Spain didn't look threatening at all.
You can't win anything unless, at some point, you are willing to gamble. It's is beginning to look as if Spain no longer know how to take a risk in front of goal, and no-one ever acheived a thing in life without chancing their luck. And wtf is going on with not playing Torres? I'm sorry, but last night that looked like stubborness on the part of Del Bosque, and Spain deserve to be punished for their arrogance, or that of their manager.
They started with a striker in Negredo and he did absolutely nothing. I just get the impression that they don't know what to do with a striker whether it's Torres or someone else.
Negredo, as you say did, nothing. You'd hardly have known he was a striker because you never saw him running into the box. Torres may be out of form, not much has gone right for him since he moved to Chelsea, but at least when he's on the pitch he gets into dangerous areas. A striker of Torres pedigree will always frighten defenders. Even Andy Carroll frightens defenders. Portugal's back line looked comfortable all last night.
