The first half’s tempo matched the atmosphere in the stands at the home of West Ham United, where there was a Mexican wave after just seven minutes. Spain dominated the early possession but could not turn that into chances until the 18th minute when Alex Grimaldo’s cross from the left found the head of debutant Dani Vivian.
However, the Athletic Club defender couldn’t keep it down. Just two minutes later, Colombia responded with a training ground free-kick that reached Matteo Cassierr, but his effort did not trouble David Raya in the Spanish goal. These couple of minutes of action did not leave to more openings as the first half instead meandered to a conclusion, with play in both final thirds limited.
Gerard Moreno was determined that the second half would not be played at the same pedestrian pace and, just four minutes after the restart, he contorted his body to meet Aymeric Laporte’s knockdown on the volley. He forced a smart save from Camilo Vargas too and, from the resulting corner, the Colombian stopper had to be alert to prevent Jhon Lucumí from putting into his own net.
The sizable Colombian support in East London were awoken just before the hour mark when half-time substitute James Rodríguez tested Spain’s replacement keeper Álex Remiro from the edge of the box, as the debutant tipped his effort over.
It was soon bedlam in the stands, though, when Luis Diaz embarked on a run down the left, sending Dani Vivian dizzy in the process, before sending a cross into the box. It was met at the back post by Crystal Palace’s Munoz, who finished with aplomb courtesy of a scissor kick.
Luis de la Fuente introduced the likes of Nico Williams, Alvaro Morata and Lamine Yamal from the bench, but he will be concerned by his side’s lack of cohesion and attacking prowess as they were limited to long-range efforts. Grimaldo’s free-kick rippling the side-netting was as close as they came to getting on the scoresheet, while Mikel Merino blazed over inside the box with their last chance in stoppage time. There was one bright spot for Spain - a debut off the bench for 17 year-old Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsi.
La Roja will be hoping for a lot more when they take on Brazil at the Santiago Bernabéu on Tuesday, while Colombia will look to make it two wins from two against Romania at Atlético Madrid’s Metropolitano Stadium on the same night.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Luis Diaz (Colombia)
