- Rodri captained Spain in their World Cup opener
- His team were unable to claim a victory
- The midfielder did not see out the full 90 minutes
Rodri had the honour of leading Spain out against Cape Verde, but things did not go as planned.
After a double-winning season with Man City, Rodri has turned his attention towards the Spanish national team.
The 29-year-old started against Cape Verde in their opening match at the World Cup, wearing the captain’s armband.
And while it was a match the European nation were expected to win comfortably, Rodri was unable to inspire a victory.
Spain held to a draw by Cape Verde
Despite dominating the stats, Rodri’s side were unable to find the back of the net against their opponent, who are ranked 67th in the world.
Spain had 74 per cent of the possession and had 27 shots in total, but were unable to get the result they were looking for.
This was despite their 2.29xG, while Cape Verde only managed a modest 0.29. In fact, it was the African side who had the chance to score late on from a corner kick.#
Rodri was highly involved for Spain
There was rarely a moment when Rodri was not on the ball. He had 136 touches, which was more than any other player.
The midfielder completed 116 passes, maintaining a 91 per cent accuracy rate, and he placed eight accurate long balls.
However, none of these contributions led to a goal for Spain before Rodri was substituted off after 87 minutes.
Next up for Rodri
After a disappointing result against Cape Verde, Rodri will be looking to get his team back on track against Saudi Arabia.
They, of course, defeated Argentina in Qatar four years ago, so avoiding complacency in that fixture is essential.
Finally on Saturday, June 27, Spain will play against Uruguay in what is considered as their most difficult match.
Once that is complete, it will become known whether Rodri will be playing again in the round of 32 stage.
