Spain started the European Championship with the punch of a heavyweight. The three-time title holder silenced the Berlin Olympic Stadium, which was firmly in Croatian hands, at half-time – and won the first match in Group B 3-0 (3-0). However, Spain’s coach Luis de la Fuente had to replace both captain Álvaro Morata and his deputy Rodri due to injuries. Morata at least gave the all-clear: “I’m ready for (the match against) Italy.” His substitution was purely a precautionary measure, and Rodri’s diagnosis was still pending on Saturday.
Anyone who consulted the relevant statistics sites discovered something unheard of at half-time and at the end of the game. The ball possession rate – according to the cliché, the meaning and purpose of Spanish football – showed an advantage in favor of the Croatians. Depending on the provider, it was between 52 and 57 percent. But the three scoreboards in the sun-drenched Olympic Stadium showed a clear 3-0 in favor of the Spaniards after both 45 and 90 minutes. They had only dreamed of such a start to the tournament. They had too much respect for the experienced Croatian midfield in general and their captain Luka Modric, who works for Real Madrid, in particular.
The almost 39-year-old director, who is playing in his fifth European Championship tournament, was flanked by Marcelo Brozovic and Mateo Kovacic. This meant that the Croatian midfield was around 100 years old and went into the match with the experience of more than 370 international matches. By comparison: their Spanish counterparts Rodri, Pedri and Fabián have not even made 100 appearances for the national team between them. But that no longer mattered after the end of the match. The Spaniards’ attacking efforts were too concrete, their actions too merciless – as if they were sending the Croatians’ glorious central midfield axis to a nursing home; Modric and Kovacic were substituted in the second half. “They played for an hour. We knew that we still had two difficult games against Albania and Italy. We didn’t want to make them play too long and give other players a chance. We just wanted to rest them,” said Croatia’s coach Zlatko Dalic.
The Croatians initially received the Spaniards in a deep formation, initially letting them have the ball, but gradually gaining control of the game. Just when they felt most secure, the Spaniards struck. Left-back Marc Cucurella won the ball, Rodri pushed it to Fabián in his own half, and he split the Croatian defence in two with a merciless pass into the depth. The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder had realised that centre-backs Josip Sutalo and Marin Pongracic, who had also performed poorly in other situations, had not yet agreed on who should take care of Spain’s captain and centre-forward Álvaro Morata. And so Morata was able to storm towards the Croatian goal alone and score without much difficulty to take the lead (29′).
A short time later, Croatia attempted a reply (through Hoffenheim’s Andrej Kramaric). But the Spaniards scored again, in an act of determination combined with art. Right winger Lamine Yamal, who at the age of 16 is now the youngest European Championship player in history, played the ball to Fabián on the edge of the penalty area, and he showed a special moment of individual class.
Croatia’s goal from a penalty does not count because Perisic ran into the penalty area too early
Fabián left a Croatian running into empty space with a heel trick, put another out of action with a change of direction – and finished with a left-footed shot from 14 meters into the right corner to make it 2-0 (32′). Croatia again tried to reply, this time through Wolfsburg’s Lovro Majer; but again it was to no avail because he put the rebound into the side netting after a shot from Brozovic was blocked by goalkeeper Unai Simón. The Spaniards, on the other hand, were again accurate. In stoppage time in the first half, right-back Dani Carvajal buried the ball from five meters after a cross from Lamal.
Even after the break, the Spaniards continued to play a game reminiscent of Miles Davis. They let the Croatians play increasingly wild rhythms, but they themselves used syncopations like the legendary jazz trumpeter once did: they played accurately placed counterattacks. This almost led to success early on: had Dominik Livakovic not dived to make a brilliant save, Spain would have scored a fourth goal in the 52nd minute after an outside-of-the-foot pass from Pedri through Lamal. The Croatians played with increasing verve – and in the 55th minute they had a great chance of their own, which Leverkusen’s Josip Stanisic missed from six meters. The Spaniards then survived not only the follow-up shot, but later also the almost traditional blunder by goalkeeper Simón (Athletic Bilbao), who is not so good with the ball with his feet.
This time Simón messed up a back pass, Majer passed to striker Bruno Petkovic, who had just been substituted on – and Petkovic won a penalty because Rodri tripped him in the six-yard box. Petkovic was initially defeated by Simon on the penalty kick – but the fact that the ball then ended up in the net had no effect due to the intervention of the video referee. It turned out that Ivan Perisic had run into the penalty area too early when he took the rebound (80th minute). The goal, which might have given the Croatians hope, was cancelled according to the rules, so the score remained the same at half-time: The Spaniards have secured themselves a brilliant starting position for reaching the knockout rounds ahead of their duel with defending champions Italy. The Croatians will have to worry. Centre forward Ante Budimir spoke of a “very tough defeat” and said: “We have no time to be sad.” Because: “The game on Wednesday (against Albania) is a final for us.”