Spain drew 1-1 with Germany in their second World Cup group game on Sunday evening and Rodri was one of many players to impress.
The 26-year-old started in a makeshift role at centre-back alongside Aymeric Laporte and put in a great performance to limit Germany’s attacking players to only two shots on target.
Rodri got the nod in defence over Pau Torres and Eric Garcia, so Pep Guardiola might be taking note if his Manchester City team suffer an injury crisis at the back again.
Against Germany, Rodri played for 90 minutes, had 119 touches, winning four aerial duels, creating one chance, completing 84.9% of his 106 passes, making three tackles, blocking two shots, making five clearances and having one interception.
The 26-year-old was Spain’s highest rated player on SofaScore with 7.6/10, so he might be a useful option at centre-back at club level in an emergency. As a ball-playing enthusiast, he was comfortable in possession against Germany. And has a willing ball-winner, Rodri was excellent at turning over the ball.
Thomas Muller failed to take a shot before being substituted in the second half while Serge Gnabry and Ilkay Gundogan were brought off after the break too, so Rodri and co. did a good job to keep their opponents at bay.
In other news, Kevin De Bruyne underperformed in World Cup defeat
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