Rio Ferdinand advises Spain to change style after Russia defeat

Former Manchester United defender, Rio Ferdinand has reacted to Spain's defeat to Russia in the second round of the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Russia, urging them to change their style of possession football.

After playing 120 minutes of football, the Russians won 4-3 on penalties with goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev making two saves for the host.

Speaking to BBC One, Ferdinand said: "Spain have been so successful with that style of possession football but there comes a time when you have to get the ball into the strikers. You have to change it up a bit. Spain got what they deserved."

Spain dominated the entire game, making over a thousand passes but could not find a winner. They lacked the final pass to the strikers and were frustrated by the defensive discipline of the host.

The Russians had a plan to sit back and hit Spain on the break. They didn't have enough opportunities to break, but they were still satisfied because they knew that they could still win it on penalties, and that they did.

The possession or 'tiki taka' kind of football has paid Spain for quite a long period of time, particular between 2008 and 2012 when they won three major trophies in succession, that is the 2008 and 2012 Euro Championships, and also the 2010 World Cup.

At the moment, it is looking like opponents are beginning to understand their style and have developed a style to counter them. This is so because Spain have failed to do well in their last three major international tournaments.