Spain fought for a 1-1 draw with Germany on Friday evening, with the performance of Isco showing the midfielder’s worth to the national team, even though he continues to struggle domestically with Real Madrid.
Isco started the match for La Roja, is one of Julen Lopetegui’s most trusted lieutenants and is likely to secure a space in the World Cup squad this summer.
However, since the turn of the year he’s lost his place in Zinedine Zidane’s Los Blancos team, despite earning a lucrative new contract earlier in the campaign.
Real Madrid are a better team without him in the starting line-up at the present moment, something that’s difficult to believe when you see how well he plays for the national team.
The 25-year-old has suffered from the French coach’s decision to switch to a 4-4-2 system in Madrid, although he got through a solid 60 minutes of play in Dusseldorf.
It’s a rather bizarre situation because the former Malaga playmaker is indispensible to the national team and is barely being used domestically.
He was tidy in possession against the defending world champions, creating a number of chances and keeping the ball moving well from midfield.
Indeed, he dovetailed nicely with Andres Iniesta, similar to the qualifying process.
Lopetegui has seen the very best of Isco since he took charge of the team with the Spanish midfielder producing a quite wonderful display against Italy in the qualifying campaign.
His lack of domestic continuity hasn’t yet impacted his World Cup hopes.