Luis Enrique frustrated by ‘worst’ half of Spain reign in Switzerland defeat

Spain lost 2-1 to Switzerland on Saturday, with Luis Enrique particularly annoyed by their first-half performance in Zaragoza.

Luis Enrique believes Spain’s performance in the first half of Saturday’s defeat to Switzerland was their worst 45 minutes of his reign.

Spain slumped to a disappointing 2-1 defeat in Zaragoza that leaves them two points behind Portugal in Group A2 of the Nations League going into their last game.

The final group game takes place on Tuesday as Spain prepare to take on the leaders in Braza, where Fernando Santos’ side beat the Czech Republic 4-0 on Saturday.

Until Jordi Alba’s 55th minute equalizer at La Romareda, La Roja had not had a single shot on target and Luis Enrique made no secret of his disappointment with the performance.

“Losing is always something that hurts. It’s a shame, but we have to respect Switzerland, who gave us a lot of trouble from the beginning,” said the coach.

“The first half was the worst in my coaching career. [Then] we defended the corner of their second goal badly.

“We improved in the second half. We tried until the end. The key match is Portugal. We will go to Braga to win.”

The manner of Saturday’s loss clearly unsettled Luis Enrique, understandably so with the World Cup starting in less than two months.

Still, he refuses to blow it, adamant that he doesn’t have to reevaluate his faith in the team just because of one result.

Asked if the game raised doubts in relation to Qatar 2022, Luis Enrique said: “No doubts.

“Of course it is better to go to Qatar on a winning streak, but I have full faith in the team. In the first half I saw many players who were more inaccurate than ever before, but the opponents are good, they know how to play.” .

“But things don’t always go well, when you don’t have a good day, this happens.

“A win against Portugal would be the perfect way to get to the World Cup. We’ve drawn them three times and now we’re going there to win.”

Portugal need a draw on Tuesday to book their place in the Nations League final for the second time.