A trio of thoughts on Spain's 5-1 Euro 2016 qualifying win vs. Macedonia:
1. Have Spain finally found a centre-forward?
Vicente Del Bosque has been through quite a few centre-forwards in recent years, including Fernando Torres, Roberto Soldado, Alvaro Negredo, Fernando Llorente and even Michu. The Diego Costa experiment now appears stalled too; the new Chelsea striker is without a goal in his first five caps and is still looking far from sure of his role as La Roja's No. 9.
With Costa injured, Valencia's Paco Alcacer, who just turned 21, was given a first senior start, and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands. From the off, it was apparent that Alcacer was on the same wavelength as his teammates, and he was found inside the box by David Silva inside the game's first minute. Throughout the first half, Alcacer linked well with Cesc Fabregas and Pedro Rodriguez, regularly swapping positions with his colleagues and seeming to know the right runs to make when they had the ball.
Alcacer's first goal for his country, in just his second cap, was not the most difficult, as he calmly volleyed Juanfran's excellent pullback into an empty net. Somewhere in London, Costa was surely thinking he would have liked such a simple chance to open his international account. But maybe the Brazil-born player would not have been in just the right place at the right time to score. Alcacer said this week that, after coming through the underage ranks from the under-16s -- scoring 26 goals in 33 youth internationals along the way -- he knows the senior team's style of play inside out. That was clear here.
Before halftime, Alcacer almost sprinted clear one-on-one onto a ball played from deep by Koke before, seconds later, the youngster came deep and linked with Silva, who sent Jordi Alba through for a shot that was saved by Macedonia keeper Tome Pacovski.
Alcacer was soon involved again with a nod down for Silva, who missed a simple chance for 3-1, and from the resulting corner had a point-blank shot blocked. He was clearly enjoying himself in his home city, even if some of the defending from the visitors was less than sharp.
He was withdrawn early in the second half by Del Bosque, who sent on Real Madrid's Isco for some minutes as a false nine. Later, Barcelona's Munir El Haddadi came on for his debut, after just two senior starts for his club. This appearance in a competitive game meant the Madrid-born player, whose father is from Morocco, has been secured for La Roja.
Munir will presumably now go back to the U21s and may eventually be the answer to Del Bosque's issue in attack. But Alcacer has already shown he has the attributes needed to play as a traditional(-ish) centre-forward in this Spain side.
2. Silva shows plenty of life still in 'old guard'
Del Bosque warned regularly that nobody should expect a revolution after the World Cup disaster, even with the international retirements of Xavi Hernandez, Xabi Alonso and David Villa. The veteran coach was true to his word. His first competitive XI after the competition had an average of 60 caps and featured seven who were at the 2010 World Cup and eight who were at Euro 2012.
But the average age of the team -- 26.8 -- was not really too old. Besides, many of Spain's most experienced players are just entering what should be the prime years of their careers. Sergio Ramos (122 caps), Cesc Fabregas (93), Silva (85), Sergio Busquets (70) and Pedro Rodriguez (43) are all 26 to 28 years old, and any coach would think twice before jettisoning that type of talent.
Of these "veterans," it was Silva who had the biggest impact on Monday. His goal early in the second half was typical; given just a yard of space inside the box, he arrowed a clever shot past an unsighted keeper and just inside the far post. It was an excellent finish and killed the game as a contest.
Earlier and less happily, the squandering of a much easier opportunity at 2-1 was just as characteristic of a player whose missed chance at 1-0 up against the Netherlands in the World Cup is still recalled by many. With Spain cruising at 4-1, there was another attempt to set up Isco for a tap-in, when Silva should have volleyed Fabregas' chip at goal. After plenty more attempts, the Manchester City playmaker finally created a final cherry on top for the night, laying on Pedro in injury time for the fifth and final goal.
Tonight was another reminder that, like many of his attacking teammates, Silva often appears more comfortable creating chances than converting them. But for better or worse, that is the personality of this Spain team, and it will not change under Del Bosque ahead of Euro 2016.
3. Defence still needs work
Of all the veterans to keep their place in the side after the World Cup, most attention has been focused on the faith Del Bosque has shown in Iker Casillas ahead of David De Gea. However, that longtime backup Raul Albiol, 29, started in Valencia at centre-back was less a recognition of past achievements than an admission that Spain's defensive resources still look stretched.
Macedonia actually had the first chance of the game, when Albiol's partner Sergio Ramos was lucky not to be booked for diving in unnecessarily and Agim Ibraimi tested Casillas with the subsequent free-kick.
At 2-0 up, Spain should have been able to just hold possession, tire out their opponent and run down the clock, but things did not work out like that. The visitors seemed to realise they could trouble the Spain defence if they ran at them and actually had a decent spell of pressure and chances.
Atletico Madrid's Juanfran had already shone in attack, especially when bravely and intelligently setting up Alcacer's goal, but he looked less clever when diving in on Aleksandar Trajkovski and giving away a needless penalty just before the half-hour mark, which was converted by Maribor's impressive Ibraimi for 2-1.
Just after halftime, Casillas was again called into action and, with Albiol and Ramos nowhere to be seen, spread himself well to save with his foot from Adis Jahovic. Even at 4-1 the Real Madrid goalkeeper got a chance to make another impressive stop when Ibraimi was allowed the space to curl a 20-yarder toward the top corner.
By that stage, Marc Bartra, 23, had come on for his first competitive appearance. The Barcelona man is promising but is also about fifth-choice centre-back at the Camp Nou. Del Bosque will presumably welcome back Gerard Pique and Javi Martinez once they overcome their injury problems, but Spain's biggest issues going forward look likely to be at the back.