Spain gave Spurs a lesson, so did Isco

Spain showed Spurs how to pass the ball around last night. If you watched the masters of it and compare it to the way we pass the ball, even when under very little pressure, there was a world of difference.

The Spanish passed the ball hard, they pinged it to each other instead of slowly rolling it to each other as we do. That gives the receiver more time on the ball, especially if the pass is a first-time one. It meant our attackers didn't always have time to close them down.

It is such a simple aspect of the game yet one we don't seem to be improving on. Jan Vertonghen rolls the ball and Victor Wanyama is even worse. Half his pases look lazy, they need to look sharp, they need to have urgency.

When Isco and Morata came on the game changed. Where England should have been compact we weren't and when Danny Rose went off Spain scored two goals from down the left-hand side where we ended with Leicester City's Ben Chilwell making his debut and Arsenal's Theo Walcott.

Even in the short time he was on Isco managed to make a telling pass into the box, although Morata had timed his run wrong, the important point though is that Isco could see the pass. We tried in the summer to get him, we have to try again in January and if not then next summer as well, we have to do all we can to sign him to add that bit of quality.

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