Del Bosque at the heart of Spain's struggles

The Spanish national team continues to struggle on offense. Excluding 5-1 and 3-0 wins over minnows Macedonia and Australia respectively, La Roja can't get the ball into the back of the net. It is not a new problem for the team, but one that was masked by success that has not been found since the 2012 European Championships.

With the declines of David Villa and Fernando Torres, the team has struggled to find a proper replacement with the team's mot recent result being a shocking 2-1 loss against Slovakia.

The current man of the hour is Diego Costa, but the Brazilian-naturalized-Spaniard has struggled to translate his club form to the national team. Many thought his burgeoning relationship with Chelsea teammate Cesc Fabregas would help but it was not enough to break through yet another defensive opponent.

That is precisely the problem with Spain. With teams still respecting them with extremely defensive lineups a target man, like Costa or the likes of Roberto Soldado or Fernando Llorente, may not be enough to break through.

The real problem is not in personnel but in tactics. Spain does not have the same team that dominated games and possession in 2010.  There's a need for a quick, dynamic player like Andres Iniesta to help break stalemates in that scenario.

In that regard, there may be better options in including someone like Pedro or Callejon alongside Diego Costa in the attack to help free up the poacher. Del Bosque added the Barcelona striker in the 58th minute of the game though he also struggled to break through.

There is also still hope in other young strikers like Morata and Jese Rodriguez, when he returns from injury. This is a new team with different talents and the national team manager seems reluctant to adapt the game plan to better fit not only its best strikers who have, for the most part, succeeded at a more direct style of play.

It is not just the strikers that are at odds with the tactics. With only three Barcelona players still as regular starters on the national team (Iniesta, Busquets and Pique), it makes no sense to retain the Tiki Taka styles.

With players from Madrid, Atletico and Chelsea (who dominate the roster positions) used to more direct counter-attacking styles, Del Bosque should adapt. 'Bigoton' has failed to do so and is revealing himself to be one of the most overrated managers in the game.

One shining example comes at the other end of the field with Iker Casillas, whose mistake lead to the first goal against Slovakia. Its time for the passing of the guard to David de Gea, but Vicente is too scared to shake the status quo.