Colombia offer a warning ahead of Macedonia qualifier
Ahead of last night's game in Murcia, Colombia were ranked fifth with Spain tenth in the FIFA ranking. One had to admit that what we saw in La Condomina will not alter this ranking with a fine performance from the visitors with James and Falcao at the heart of Colombia's play. Spain performed adequately but had a tendency to play with an over-arrogance but managed to salvage a respectable draw at home with Morata latching onto a fine delivery from Saúl to nod home late on in the game. Neither side completely dominated proceedings and the game had a "to-and-fro" air to it that could have had any final result outcome.
Colombia, Russia 2018 bound
Colombia will be the happier of the teams with the final outcome despite both countries respective rankings. The final result does keep Lopetegui with his unbeaten record intact in his nine games in charge of "La Roja" (six wins and three draws) but he will want to see areas of improvement despite the draw. Colombia played well with both James and Radamel Falcao instrumental in their good work and are comfortably positioned to secure a place in next summer's Russia 2018 World Cup.
Skopje warning
I quietly hoped for more from Spain. I even sensed that some players even saw the game as an inconvenience interrupting their holiday plans with others resting, notably the always influential Sergio Ramos. My underlying feeling watching the action from Murcia that this wasn't a primed unit but a gathering of players that Lopetegui had assembled to make the best of a friendly match at the end of a demanding campaign for his squad who managed to save face with the late Morata header. If nothing else, this game should serve as a warning ahead of the 2018 World Cup qualifying game against Macedonia on Sunday where a draw would be of little use to "La Roja"