Fabian MVP and Carvajal continue to work in skating mode | Relief
Berlin, Germany).- Huge joy at the Olympic Stadium: Spain defeated Croatia in the debut match of the European Cup (3-0) and gave me a reason to dream with his candidacy for this title. Modric’s team succumbed to the talent of La Roja in the final period of the first half, which will go down in the history of the tournament: Mora ruined the game in the 29th minute, Fabian He increased the lead with a great goal in the 32nd minute and Carvajal He delivered the verdict just seconds before the break.
In the second half, Dalic’s men had no opportunity to react. A well-planned team withstood the onslaught of the opponent and even Unai Simon appeared providentially stop the penalty against Petkovic. Such was the performance of the 16 La Roja players who took part, ranked from least to highest among the starting XI. It’s hard to choose between such magnificence…:
Nico Williams: Least accurate line of attack. He lacked overtaking success, last-pass agility and decision-making efficiency. Once he gets into the tournament, Spain’s danger will increase. And this is also great news.
Pedri: He didn’t stop offering himself, but he had difficulty interacting with the attackers and changing the situation on the last pass. De la Fuente chose him as his first substitute, coming on in the 59th minute to bring on Dani Olmo. He may see his position with Italy under threat.
Le Normand: Correct in expectations and enlightenment. He dangerously searched for Mora with long deliveries. He understands Nacho well, whom he has barely met until now (they played just 53 minutes together in the last friendly before the Euros against Northern Ireland). Safety.
Nacho: Fast to cross and with the stripes of a leader (he never stopped giving instructions to Le Norman and correcting Cucurella). He has earned his place for the next games… unfortunately for Laporte. Emotional hug with Modric.
Cucurella: Just as solid as in the final stretch of the season against Chelsea. He did not suffer for his group and dared to double Niko in some action. They also avoided it in the second half thanks to Mayer’s almost sung save. De la Fuente surprised him with Grimaldo and Cuckoo he agreed with her.
Carvajal: Smart in fights with Guardiol, persistently asks Lamine to come to the defense and scores from a corner, like in the Champions League final, from which he became the most valuable player. The extremes fear him and doubt when they see him before them. Kramaric didn’t even show up. What more could you want?
Rhodri: This is the compass of Spain. He must have already acted as such in Qatar, where Luis Enrique was considering putting him at centre-back and De la Fuente has now handed him the reins. Capital on the way out, skilled in theft and quick in organizing counterattacks. He committed the maximum penalty, which was stopped by Simon, and that was his only mistake.
Unai Simon: He saved a penalty from Petkovic in the 77th minute with phenomenal stretch. Previously, he blocked Kovacic’s shot from the penalty area quite well. He was confident on his feet and alert on his exits to stop long deliveries to Mayer and Budimir. The perfect premiere.
Mora: He took the field and dedicated his goal to those who doubted: he is already the third top scorer in the history of European competition. There is nothing there. He attacked the space when the score was 1:0 and played home Livakovic’s entry with precision. His support to play with his back is also important in giving the team oxygen. He retired with left knee discomfort in the 67th minute, causing concern for everyone.
Lamin Yamal: From smallest to largest. He started timidly, without the necessary courage before the match against Guardiol, and became bolder as soon as Morata scored 1-0. He made it 2-0 to Fabian from the right flank and crossed the ball into the center to make it 3-0. Today he broke another record, becoming the youngest player to take part in the European Championship. It has no limit. And this happened regularly: it worried from 1′ to 90′. Cruel.
Fabian: UEFA MVP. They liked his first minutes, in which he always offered a passing line in front of Rodri and created danger with a change of orientation laterally, and finished his game with a 1-0 assist – he filtered a perfect pass towards Mora – and a great goal that put the ground in the middle. For some reason, for technology it is indisputable… although it does not make noise and does not monopolize cases.
REPLACEMENTS
Dani Olmo: He started shooting after missing the previous friendlies – and the last two days of the Bundesliga – with a calf injury. He came inside and caused damage by hitting the left flank. Versatility is another advantage.
Oyarzabal: He corrected the center backs and was part of Spain’s plan to destroy the match: gobble up the ball and wear down Vatreni, who was weighed down by the minutes. He is running as an alternative to Mora in case the 7s don’t make it to the Italy match.
Mikel Merino: Muscles and work to wear down and incapacitate Modric and Kovacic. He did his job. An ideal resource for starting the result.
Ferran Torres: He gave Lamin a rest in the last minutes and positioned himself on the right. He had almost no fame. De la Fuente trusts him to the maximum.
Zubimendi: He came on for Rodri in the 87th minute and joined Merino in the double pivot. He has very fond memories of his debut in the Eurocup.