World Cup: Luis Enrique defends Ansu Fati after Spain winger struggles against Switzerland

 Luis Enrique defends Ansu Fati after Spain winger struggles against Switzerland

Spain boss Luis Enrique has defended Ansu Fati after he struggled to impact the 1-0 victory over Switzerland in the Nations League.

The 17-year-old Barcelona winger, who is his country's youngest ever goalscorer, played 57 minutes in Madrid before being replaced by Wolves star Adama Traore.

Fati failed to capitalise on two good openings in the match, managing just one shot and creating zero opportunities for team-mates.

He also failed to muster a cross and lost four of his seven duels as Switzerland's 3-5-2 system proved tricky to break down, with Silvan Widmer and Nico Elvedi providing tough opposition down the Spain left.

"Man-marking is always a problem for the forwards, for everyone," Luis Enrique said on Monday as Spain prepare to face Ukraine.

"Our goal is to create the greatest number of advantages for our attackers. After that, each game is how it is.

"Ansu is 17 years old, but he already knows what he's going to find in matches.

"We have our model because it depends on the work of the whole team. Against Switzerland, it was a difficult game for everyone because of the strong and high pressing from them, but I think we solved things well."

Spain's attack was also frustrated in a 0-0 draw with Portugal last week, but defensively the 2010 world champions have looked impressive.

In a 15-game unbeaten run stretching back to November 2018, La Roja have conceded only six goals and kept nine clean sheets.

Luis Enrique is happy to see the likes of Pau Torres, Eric Garcia and Diego Llorente perform well in a battle for a starting spot and also believes the younger players can help captain Sergio Ramos improve.

"Pau, Eric and Diego have done well, each one contributing in their place and trying to improve," he said.

"They are able to play with someone who is a benchmark, like Ramos, and they feel they can play with him, help him and even correct him. Leaders also know they can learn new things."

Southgate set to start Kane despite Mourinho's concerns

Gareth Southgate is hopeful star forward Harry Kane will be fit to start for England when they meet Denmark in the Nations League on Wednesday.

Spurs head coach Jose Mourinho called on Southgate not to use Kane in all three of England's fixtures during the international break, with Tottenham having had a congested start to the 2020-21 campaign.

Kane scored twice as Spurs dismantled Manchester United 6-1 in the Premier League on October 4, before reporting for England duty later that day.

However, the 27-year-old had a scan on a thigh issue and was not involved in a friendly match against Wales on Thursday, and started on the bench against Belgium on Sunday before replacing Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the 66th minute.

Despite Mourinho's concerns, though, England boss Southgate is confident his captain will be able to start against the Danes on Wednesday.

"Well, medically, there's been conversations, because that would always be the case," Southgate told reporters when asked if England had been in contact with Spurs.

"He reported on the Sunday, we gave players that reported on Sunday, who weren't involved in the Wales game for us, we gave them two days' recovery.

"He started to train on the Wednesday, was a little unhappy with how he felt, so then worked with our medical team the next couple of days, we scanned just to be certain but it's a muscular fatigue issue rather than an injury, so it just needed a bit more confidence.

"He knew by then he could push on a little bit, but he just needed a bit more confidence in it, and so his training week really wasn't suitable to start the game.

"I think he'll have gained more confidence from the spell he had against Belgium, and so all being well, we hope he'll be good to start on Wednesday."

It is not difficult to understand Mourinho's concerns, given Spurs' reliance on their star forward.

Kane made 29 league appearances last season, missing nine matches in the top flight.

Of the games he missed, Tottenham won just three, scoring 12 goals in total, compared to 49 goals and 13 victories with Kane in the side, while he already has three top-flight goals and six assists to his name this term.

Spurs' next Premier League outing comes on Sunday, with Mourinho's men hosting London rivals West Ham.

England keeper debate: Who should be Gareth Southgate's No1?

The debate over who should be England’s No1 continues to dominate conversation with every passing international break.

Following his heroics at the 2018 World Cup, Jordan Pickford has remained Gareth Southgate’s go-to man despite indifferent form for Everton.

But as Nick Pope (pictured above) and Dean Henderson continue to put pressure on the current incumbent, we take a closer look at who should be the Three Lions' first choice between the sticks.

The current No.1

Despite numerous errors for Everton, Pickford remains Southgate’s first-choice stopper.

It has been a difficult start to the campaign at club level for Pickford, with two errors in the Carabao Cup clash against League One Fleetwood quickly followed by a howler during the Toffees’ 4-2 victory over Brighton.

But Southgate has remained fiercely loyal to the 26-year-old given he is yet to let him down in a Three Lions shirt.

While Pickford’s shot-stopping has deteriorated, his distribution is still excellent and the England boss is keen for his keeper to be comfortable with the ball at his feet.

Pickford has made five errors leading to goals since the start of last season, but his passing accuracy is 60.4% and he’s played nearly five times as many short passes per game as his nearest challengers. 

That is one of the reasons Pickford will remain at the front of the queue for the time being.

The nearest challenger

Pope continues to excel for Burnley and has been the most consistent England keeper for the best part of the past three seasons.

His 15 clean sheets last campaign were the second most in the Premier League and he only made two errors leading to goals in the same time that Pickford endured five.

The 28-year-old is also seen as a much calmer presence between the sticks than his hot-headed counterpart and appeared unfazed during only his second Three Lions start in the 3-0 victory over Wales.

But Burnley’s style means Pope is not required to use his feet to the same extent as Pickford and his pass completion rate is just 37.9%, while he passes the ball out less than three times per game for the Clarets.

For the traditionalist, Pope would be England’s first choice. But if he wants to become the country’s No1, he may need to convince Southgate that he is good enough with his feet when given the chance.

The big hope

Henderson has long been tipped for the top and he showed why for Sheffield United during his first season in the Premier League.

Henderson saved 74.2% of the shots he faced, which is comfortably higher than both Pickford and Pope, and kept 13 cleans sheets in a newly-promoted side.

A clanger early on in the season against Liverpool was the only error leading to a goal he committed and, despite being asked to play long often for the Blades, Henderson’s first touch and ability on the ball is not in question.

But the 23-year-old is back at Manchester United and is yet to oust David de Gea as the club’s first-choice keeper.

His only appearances this campaign have come in the Carabao Cup and until Henderson can force his way into the Red Devils side, it’s hard to see the highly rated keeper leapfrogging both Pickford and Pope.

But there is no questioning that his time will come eventually. 

Bayern won't give Alaba ultimatum over new deal, says Salihamidzic

Bayern Munich will not give David Alaba an ultimatum to sign a new contract, according to the club's sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic.

The Austria international's contract expires at the end of the season and a public spat has broken out between former Bayern president Uli Hoeness and the player's father about ongoing negotiations over a new deal.

George Alaba reacted furiously to Hoeness' insinuation his son was only interested in money and accused him of "spreading dirty lies".

Serie A champions Juventus are reportedly interested in signing the defender, and although Bayern are keen to keep hold of him, Salihamidzic says the club will not put undue pressure on him to reach an agreement.

"First of all, David is our player and he has been at this club for a long time," Salihamidzic told reporters on Monday. "I think you can imagine that we will not give him an ultimatum because we are serious about this.

"We try to convince David [to stay] and we would obviously be happy if he does stay here in Munich. We hope the contract will be signed soon."

Alaba joined Bayern's academy in 2008 and has since gone on to win nine Bundesliga titles and two Champions League crowns.

He is on international duty with Austria currently and played the full 90 minutes in Sunday's 1-0 Nations League win over Northern Ireland.