After Germany the day before, Spain begins its tournament with a card! On the occasion of the third match of Euro 2024 and following Switzerland’s victory over Hungary, Spain faced Croatia at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. In this very tough first showing in Group B, La Roja had a lot to face against an opponent that it had barely beaten in the final of the Nations League, in June 2023. If the stakes were high for La Roja, who intended to confirm the dynamic displayed during its qualifying campaign, the meeting was one-sided since Luis de la Fuente’s troops largely dominated the debates (3-0) thanks in particular to an XXL performance achieved by Fabian Ruiz .
Established in a three-way environment alongside Rodri and Pedri, the Parisian stood out from the crowd. In addition to his ability to shine in recovery, the former Neapolitan was also the most decisive. Proof of this is in the 28th minute where the Spaniard, taking advantage of a high recovery from his teammate Marc Cucurella, ideally launched Alvaro Morata in the depth, author of the opening score and in the process becoming the 3rd top scorer in the history of the competition with 7 achievements. In the process, the number 8 of La Roja quickly turned into a scorer by hooking Luka Modric before following up with his left foot to deceive Dominik Livakovic (32nd). If we expected to see the golden youth of La Roja embodied by Lamine Yamal take power against the Croats, it was indeed the native of Los Palacios y Villafranca who was able to come out on top. at the forefront, he showed great solidity in duels (4/5 duels won) while being serious in his transmissions (65 balls touched, 91% successful passes).
Fabian Ruiz, X factor of La Roja!
Credited with an 8/10 and elected man of the match by our Editorial team, Fabian Ruiz scored additional points with his coach and is gaining momentum, like his attractive end to the season under the colors of Paris Saint-Germain . “I am happy with the great match we played. Croatia is a team with great players. Alvaro Morata always tells me to look deep for him, that he always stands out. I saw the gap and he did the job with great control and a great goal which allowed us to open the scoring. I am also happy to score with my country in a European Championship, but above all, for the victory of the team”rejoiced the main party as he analyzed his exceptional performance of the evening at the final whistle before praising the collective strength of his team:
“But I think it was the work of the team that was fundamental. Everything we did, everyone who played, even those who were originally on the bench, contributed to the result. The key to success? It’s the team. This victory is the result of us working as a team. We are really together and that is fundamental… In a tournament like this you have to recover and be focused, because we have another difficult match against Italy.” Like his team, Fabian Ruiz more than fulfilled his part of the contract in Berlin and showed some certainties which were enough to delight Spanish supporters. Logically, the Parisian will try to continue his momentum on June 20 against Italy, the title holders. Meanwhile, Spain occupies first place in Group B and has taken a big step towards qualifying for the next round.
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