Spain vs Morocco: Thiago's control should impress Barcelona and Real Madrid despite chaos around him - scouting report

The Bayern Munich playmaker helped Spain exert some measure of control over a match that threatened to get away from them early and late

Spain are into the World Cup’s round of 16 despite a performance that yielded more questions than answers as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Morocco in Kaliningrad.

An injury-time flick from Iago Aspas rescued a point for Fernando Hierro’s men after Youssef En-Nesyri’s bullet header looked to have secured a famous win for Morocco.

Isco had earlier cancelled out Khalid Boutaib’s opportunistic opener, and it was no coincidence that an error-prone Spain threatened to lose control of the game entirely when Bayern Munich playmaker Thiago Alcantara was substituted in the 74th minute.

Thiago was the one change Hierro made to the Spain team that squeaked past Iran on Wednesday, included at the expense of Real Madrid winger Lucas Vazquez to provide an even greater stranglehold on possession alongside Sergio Busquets at the base of midfield.

In the main it worked, as Thiago glided around the right side of the middle third, picking the right times to supply David Silva and Diego Costa or switch the point of attack to the left, where the silky interplay between Andres Iniesta and Isco caused the most problems for the Moroccan defence.

He produced no thrilling highlights in the first half but completed all of his 41 passes, all three of his take-ons and succeeded with both of the tackles he attempted.

Spain’s vulnerabilities were further back, where Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique both made an uncharacteristic number of bad decisions. The former’s indecision allowed Boutaib to run through and score, while the latter’s two-footed lunge on the Moroccan striker early in the first half should have resulted in a straight red card.

Isco was Spain’s primary threat in the final third, darting menacingly into pockets of space and embarrassing Moroccan defenders with his immaculate close control and dribbling as he combined with Iniesta and Costa around the penalty area.

Thiago kept things ticking over in between, setting the tempo of Spain’s passing and only rarely venturing further forward – his one chance arrived in the 69th minute, when he blazed a shot well over the crossbar after being slipped in smartly by Costa. Five minutes later, both were withdrawn in favour of Real Madrid sensation Marco Asensio and Liverpool legend Aspas.

It is jarring to realise that Thiago, who feels like one of football’s perennial prospects, is 27 years old. He left Barcelona for Bayern five years ago after giving up on displacing Barcelona’s established midfield masters and has largely remained their understudy at international level; despite making his Spain debut in 2011, this was his first start at a major tournament.

Injuries have also played their part. Thiago’s availability has been disrupted by physical problems in every one of his five seasons in Germany, and he started just 12 Bundesliga games last season – something that is surely a key factor in Bayern’s apparent willingness to let him go this summer.

Their reported asking price of around £60 million should prompt serious thought from Barcelona and Real Madrid, believed to be Thiago’s keenest suitors in this transfer window. Physical durability is a fundamental quality in any key player, even if there can be no doubting his world-class talent.

In a lot of other ways, though, Thiago is a perfectly sensible target for both clubs. He was raised in the Barcelona style and is highly adept at controlling the play of dominant teams. He also happens to be younger than Ivan Rakitic, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric. It is strange that the Premier League’s top six have not yet entered the race.

Thiago will get more opportunities to impress at this World Cup despite Morocco’s best efforts, and Spain will need him to be at his physical and technical best if they are to control the more dangerous opponents that lie ahead in this competition.