Spain 0 Germany 0

Between them, they have won international football's last four major tournaments but for eighty-nine minutes Spain and Germany could not manage a goal. And then Toni Kroos struck a superb winner from twenty-five yards. The Real Madrid midfielder's shot skidded low and flew into the bottom corner beyond Casilla. That's Casilla, not Casillas: it was Kiko, not Iker, that Kroos had beaten. He was just fifteen minutes into his debut.

Casillas had departed on 160 caps with quarter of an hour to go. With barely a minute remaining, the ball went past Casilla. Two names, two goalkeepers, that feel like a comment on the way in which la selección still find themselves caught between two eras, a little unsure of their identity. For Spain it was another defeat but this was a match where the result mattered little and one that will have momentarily pleased both managers, and one that reinforced the feeling that Isco may be the man to lead Spain’s new generation, but also one that never truly escaped its status as a friendly. And a decaffeinated one at that.

Since 2008 Spain and Germany have won two European Championships and two World Cups between them. There have also been two semi-finals and a runners-up place; Spain beat Germany in the final in 2008 and the semi-final in 2010. This summer, the axis tilted: Spain were the first team out of the World Cup; Germany were its winners for the first time since 1990. It was fortuitous as this game had been arranged in May but here was a kind of international Super Cup: World champions versus European champions.

And yet there was something missing here. The biggest stage, for one. There was no escaping the fact that this was not an official match and Lucas Podolski had complained that the game should have been played in the Santiago Bernabéu or the Camp Nou. But Spain’s national team always travels the country and instead it was played in Vigo’s Balaídos stadium, in the wet and windy north-west, where the rain came down sideways. The ground, which holds 31,800, was not entirely full.

Then there were the players. Of Germany’s starting XI against Argentina in Rio, only three began here: Höwedes, Kroos and Müller, who was withdrawn after twenty-three minutes. The man whose goal won them the World Cup, Mario Götze, was though included in the middle of a front three with Müller and Volland.

Others have departed. Lahm, Klose and Mertesacker retired from international football. Some pulled out of the squad; others were not included in the first place. Mesut Özil, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Marco Reus, Julian Draxler, Mats Hummels, Kevin Grosskreutz, André Schürrle, Manuel Neuer, Christoph Kramer and Jérôme Boateng were all absent. In goal was Ron-Robert Zieler, once of Northampton Town. His was the first save of the game, pushing away Nolito's shot from eighteen yards. Joachim Löw's 19 man squad came from 14 different clubs.

Spain too are changed. Nolito was making his debut at his club ground, while alongside him Álvaro Morata started for the first time, becoming the 16th striker to play in the Del Bosque era. Callejón then came on for a debut of his own in the second half.

Of Vicente Del Bosque's starting XI, only six were even at the World Cup. In part that was a product of this being a friendly, but Xavi and Xabi Alonso had retired, David Villa had virtually done the same and Fernando Torres is no longer included. Andrès Iniesta, David Silva, Cesc Fàbregas and Diego Costa were injured.

In the case of the latter two, the "injuries" – and many in Spain have placed the word injury in inverted commas – have provoked a debate about players' commitment to the national team. The debate was led by Sergio Ramos who stopped short of saying that he did not believe them – but only just. Del Bosque had also admitted that he would ensure that those who did not play on Saturday would get their chances here: at half time, Raúl Albiol, Marc Bartra and Ignacio Camacho came on. Camacho was making his debut.

For Germany, results have been poor since Rio: Argentina beat them in a friendly, the drew with the Republic of Ireland and were defeated by Poland. Spain have been beaten too, by Slovakia – their first defeat in a qualifying game for eight years but their fourth in six games including the World Cup. Del Bosque has talked about a “soft transition” and they remain well-placed to qualify with three wins from four games, but there is a search for identity.

For many, the man that might provide the key is the Madrid midfielder Isco; superb on Saturday night against Belarus and active again here, nominally on one side of the midfield but keen to drop and become involved wherever possible, carrying the game. Del Bosque had alerted him to the need to avoid trying to win the game alone but the excitement that surrounds him is understandable. Again, he was the outstanding performer. When he opened up his body to curl a shot goalwards in the first half it was another reminder of his display against Belarus. This time, though, the shot went over.

Löw had admitted that he expected Spain to have most of the ball, too. Germany lined up with five across the back, Sebastian Rudy and Erik Durm functioning as wing-backs. Largely, it was as expected: world champions, they might have been but this remained a friendly. Del Bosque’s insistence “there’s no such thing as a friendly” between these two teams did not always convince.

The ball moved quickly on the wet surface and was usually in Spain’s possession. The touch was assured and there was pressure applied too, one of two moments that will have pleased the coach, giving him confidence that there is a future for this side. Yet when Germany sprang they did so purposefully. The best chance of the first half followed a lovely exchange involving Kroos, Müller and Götze. His shot, taken with the ball in the air from the edge of the area, was saved by Casillas. Götze led another break ten minutes later, but the move eventually ended with Rudy firing over. At the other end, Garcîa headed over from Isco’s delivery.

Then the substitutions began. There were still nice touches and the ball moved swiftly. Again, Isco was at the heart of the best moments. He dashed through and dropped off to Pedro whose clipped effort was pushed away by Zieler. A moment later, Morata smashed the ball in off the bar but the linesman’s flag had already gone up, and wrongly, against César Azpilicueta – a not really moment for a not really game. Until, that was, Kroos collected the ball twenty-five yards out with a minute to go.

(Guardian service)