“The whole game hurt me, we are a team” | Relief

No single player is as important as all of them combined.. This phrase “locker room” and “big family” was used like no other by Jesus Navas in Spain’s victory over Albania. The defender collided with Manai in the first minute of the match.. The Sevilla player received a blow that left him on the ground for several seconds before getting up, apparently without any problems.

Because the party stood up not only for him, but for everyone. And especially warned Dani Carvajal. He himself explained this to the media: “It was in the first minute, tomorrow they will do tests on me. They stepped on my right foot very hard. The whole game hurt me, but I wanted to last the full 90 minutes. Dani had a card and we are a team“.

For context, if Dani Carvajal had to come on as a substitute and see a yellow card, he would not have been able to play in the round of 16. Two cards imply disqualification and are removed only in the semi-finals. News that would be catastrophic for the national team, not only because of the absence of the Real Madrid player.but there is a possibility that Jesus Navas will not achieve a 100% result either.

Faced with the possibility that Spain would have to face this difficult scenario, Jesus Navas stood up and carried on as if nothing had happened. Meanwhile, he suffered from pain, continued to resist this discomfort for 90 minutes and completed it. This Tuesday he will undergo tests to rule out injury and it is possible that he will be able to fully qualify for the next round, but his sacrifice is already worthy of praise.

In addition, he celebrated countless milestones. Apart from what was already known (the only player left from the 2010 World Cup, the only one to win the European Cup, World Cup and Nations League…), This Monday he became the oldest Spanish footballer to take part in the European Championship, aged 38 years and 216 days.. A record that will be difficult to break, as he beat the record of Santi Cañizares, who set him… two years younger! More precisely, 36 years and 248 days.

Luis de la Fuente was unwilling to provide further details about his physical condition, and in fact, it is likely that he will be able to continue the fight in the next round as if nothing had happened. But he took the opportunity to praise him, just before leaving the press room and heading back to headquarters: “Before we go. I wanted to congratulate Jesus Navas. I think he will become the oldest Spanish football player to participate in the European Championship. This is great news for the team, the group and Spanish football. Congratulations“In addition, we should congratulate him for another reason: he chose, with pain, to sacrifice himself to protect Carvajal. A player can win a game, a team wins championships.”