Spain played out a 0-0 draw with Sweden on Monday night, and Liverpool’s Thiago hasn’t impressed the media back home.
Luis Enrique’s side had plenty of possession and created a number of openings, but just couldn’t put the ball in the net.
Alexander Isak carved out a couple of openings for himself and Marcus Berg, so this could have been even worse for Spain as they settled for a point in the end.
Why didn’t Thiago start?
Enrique chose to go with a midfield three of Rodri, Koke and Pedri, meaning Thiago had to make do with a place on the bench.
The Liverpool man did come on though, replacing Manchester City ace Rodri with around 25 minutes left of the game.
What have the press in Spain said about Thiago?
Thiago was criticised for his first season in England despite clearly improving towards the end of the season, but it’s fair to say that Marca really weren’t impressed last night.
Marca and their readers have ranked Thiago as the third-worst player to feature for Spain last night, with only Ferran Torres and Alvaro Morata lower.
“He entered in the second half. He wanted to be the protagonist but he alternated good circulation with erratic passes and wrong decisions. He did not show arguments to be a starter,” wrote Marca.
They’re seemingly confident that Thiago hasn’t done enough to earn a start against Poland on Saturday, but Liverpool fans probably wouldn’t mind him having something of a rest ahead of next season.
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