Luxembourg vs. Spain: Winners and Losers from Euro 2016 Qualifier
Spain strolled to victory at the Stade Josy Barthel on Sunday evening, beating Luxembourg 4-0 to reignite their Euro 2016 qualification campaign.
David Silva opened the scoring with a long-range strike, Paco Alcacer made it three in three for La Furia Roja, and Diego Costa finally got off the mark at the seventh attempt.
Juan Bernat iced the victory late on.
Read on for our winners and losers, but be warned: It's winner-heavy!
Winner: Diego Costa, Who FINALLY Scored for Spain
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The national goal drought for Diego Costa was beginning to become a bit of a worry, with his first six appearances up front for Spain yielding nothing.
But it was seventh time lucky for the Chelsea hitman, who struck once against Luxembourg on Sunday evening to conquer his own personal duck.
It was looking pretty bad for him, we'll admit, as he squandered chance after chance, but all that matters is he scored. This, hopefully, will serve as a platform as he ups his performance levels.
Winner: David Silva, Who Is Football's Version of a Genius
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David Silva is Spain's most prolific, active goalscorer right now, and he scored his 22nd international strike in some style on Sunday.
Diego Costa nodded a long ball into his path, and after the Manchester City man seemingly set himself off-balance with an odd first touch, he was still able to smash it into the top corner from 20-plus yards.
"Silva has been, unarguably, the best player on the pitch. A joy to watch him play like this for Spain, something he doesn't do often.
— Chris (@MoarFootball) October 12, 2014"
Just before half-time, he teed up Paco Alcacer with a clever pass inside the box, and he tormented Luxembourg in space throughout the second period.
The man is a genius.
Loser: Luxembourg's Defensive Trio, Who Struggled Immensely
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Chris Philipps, Lars Gerson and Maxime Chanot—Luxembourg's central defensive trio—really struggled to contain Diego Costa on Sunday evening.
With Paco Alcacer dropping into pockets of space, they only truly played against one striker, but even then they were beaten in most aerials and lost a lot of territory when tussling.
In the second half, manager Luc Holtz switched a 4-4-2-esque look, and the two-man tandem worked far, far better.
Winner: Vicente Del Bosque
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Yes, it's only Luxembourg, and yes, you can't draw too much from it, but Vicente del Bosque's been under the hammer recently, and he deserves a little reprieve when earned.
He switched away from a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 look and converted to a 4-4-2 diamond, with Koke and Andres Iniesta on the sides and David Silva in the hole behind the striking duo.
He also switched to a varied style of play that involved longer balls forward, utilising Diego Costa's prowess as an aerial battering ram. Gerard Pique and Marc Bartra, though untroubled, were a perfect pair in defence.
After the loss to Slovakia, we called for VDB to pick a style. Is this the response?
Winner: Valencia's Youth System
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Valencia's youth academy chiefs will be patting themselves on the backs right now, and deservedly so.
"Three out of Spain's four goals tonight were scored by players who came through the youth system at Valencia: Silva, Alcácer and Bernat.
— Ben Hayward (@bghayward) October 12, 2014"
Add to that the fact that Rodrigo—the man who assisted Juan Bernat's late goal—is currently at Valencia and playing well, and Jordi Alba also played, and that makes it five impactful los Che alumni.
