Skip to main content

Alonso & Pique: Spain won't make drastic change

The European champions, whose style has become known as "tiki-taka" after the speedy, one-touch football they typically deploy, were shut out by the battling Swiss in Wednesday's shock 1-0 defeat in their Group H opener.

Midfielder Alonso and defender Pique told a news conference at Spain's training base on Friday the team's style was clearly-defined, had served them well in the past and it would be wrong to make drastic changes because of one poor result.

"The other day (against Switzerland) we played well but we failed with the final ball, but we are not going to change our style," Pique said.

Alonso added: "The system has worked well in other matches, allowing responsibilities to be effectively shared out. It's possible we'll find ourselves in a similar position (to the Swiss game) again and we'll just have to break down our opponents as best we can."

"Our style is defined but that's not to say that we don't have other options," Alonso said.

"Our opponents know us but we have the weapons to solve problems against teams that sit back."

"Cesc has great touch and timing and can also score goals," Pique said. "He's in great shape and clearly if the coach selects him he'll bring a great deal to the team."

Follow FFT.com on Twitter
Join FFT.com on Facebook