Spain boss Luis Enrique is happy with the direction the team is heading, despite missing out on a place in the Nations League finals.
Following back-to-back 3-2 defeats to England and Croatia, Spain finished second in their group after England’s late winner against Croatia at Wembley on Sunday saw Gareth Southgate’s side progress.
Enrique used the friendly against Bosnia-Herzegovina to look at some of his fringe players and he saw Brais Mendez score on his debut in a 1-0 win at Estadio de Gran Canaria.
The 21-year-old attacker, who plays his club football for Celta Vigo, settled the game 11 minutes from time when he turned home the rebound after Isco’s effort had been saved.
“We are focusing on qualifying for Euro 2020 and I think the national team is looking good,” Enrique said in his post-match press conference.
“After seeing how we started [in the UEFA Nations League] we expected to qualify, but we lost our way in Zagreb and Seville. I didn’t expect the team to be at this level.
“The team looks good to me. We caused problems on the wings but it wasn’t an easy game tonight. We tried playing football, but it’s always difficult against a team who have so many behind the ball.”
Isco was named the captain against Bosnia-Herzegovina, leading a Spain starting line-up that had just 97 caps.
“The armband is incidental. Isco is the player with the most caps, but he has been leading the way for club and country for years. He has big potential with us and an excellent attitude.”
