The match was over, Luis de la Fuente had brilliantly achieved the milestone of winning the opening match of the European Championship – a 3-0 victory against Croatia – but the Spanish coach was not in the mood to congratulate himself. He wanted to express his gratitude. The 62-year-old had his coaching and support staff line up and asked everyone to form a guard of honor on the sidelines. The players returned from the West Curve, where they had applauded the fans, and walked through the aisle that their superiors had formed for them on the way to the dressing room. “Of course we are satisfied,” De la Fuente would later say. “But the credit goes to the players. They read the game brilliantly. I am proud of them.”
The players would probably have responded in a similar way. De la Fuente was promoted to coach of the senior team after the World Cup in Qatar, which was so disappointing for Spain (they were knocked out in the round of 16 by Morocco on penalties), and when he took office he was given a clear mandate: to change the way the Spanish team played. Against Morocco, it was not the first time that Spain had drowned in possession of the ball, playing “windscreen wiper football” as it was derided in Spain, i.e. passing the ball from left to right, but never into the goal. And he went home early.
:Only one pass is missing for perfection
Toni Kroos plays 102 balls against Scotland, 101 of which reach their destination. He is the master of the proceedings and the centre of the German game – also because he has developed further compared to previous tournaments shortly before the end of his career.
The association’s almost contractually agreed instructions to the former youth coach De la Fuente were: promote verticality, put an end to the obsolete wishy-washy, and create goals. In recent matches, Spain’s national team had already shown progress in this regard, but it never went as far as it did on Saturday in Berlin against the Croatians.
“Spain is suddenly a fury,” wrote La Gazzetta dello Sport
For the first time since a friendly against Germany in Vigo (0:1, goal by Toni Kroos), the Spanish had less possession than an opponent, ending a series of 111 games. And anyone who wanted to concentrate only on the competitive matches had to go back even further in the archives, 136 games to the European Championship in 2008, the year the “Golden Generation” was born. But: On Saturday, the Spanish won the match. “Next, please!” they seemed to shout at the end, according to the schedule it will be Italy, on Wednesday in Gelsenkirchen. In the Italian camp, the message was understood: “Spain is suddenly a fury,” wrote The Sports Newspaper.
Not that the Spaniards were planning on leaving the ball to the Croatians. “We still like having the ball!” asserted the Andalusian Fabián, who was voted the match’s most valuable player for his pass up front before Álvaro Morata made it 1-0 (29th minute), his dream goal just a few minutes later to make it 2-0 (32nd minute) and an overall impressive performance. His goal was what you would call a feast for the eyes: he made Luka Modric look, well, old with a heel kick, outmaneuvered Marcelo Brozovic, who had rushed to the goal, with another feint – and shot in with his left from 14 meters. “If his name wasn’t Fabián (but Fabinho), you wouldn’t stop talking about him,” said De la Fuente. “He has everything.”
At least the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder represented a team on Saturday that did not succumb to self-doubt when Croatia actually had (a little) more possession. The statistics showed 52:48 percent. A break in style? That would be a bit too much. It was certainly a departure from the unspoken dogma. It had already been hinted at the evening before.
“I have no idea about styles,” said midfielder Rodri before the game, “the style that counts is the one that brings you victory.” Rodri, of all people, who plays for Manchester City under Pep Guardiola, known as a possession guru? Rodri, of all people. He was also the one who had ordered determination in both penalty areas – and saw it on Saturday. On both sides.
The Spaniards are also happy about the appearance of Lamine Yamal
For example, the chances the Croatians had, which they did have – including immediately after the first two goals by the Spaniards, in the second half by Josip Stanisic and the penalty that Boris Petkovic missed; but above all the 3-0 by Dani Carvajal (45.+2), who ran onto a cross behind the Croatian defense and steered it into the goal. The game was so over after that that Zlatko Dalic took his two – pale – midfield veterans Modric, 39, and Mateo Kovacic, 30, off the field after just over an hour. “We just wanted to rest them,” said Dalic, as he already had his sights set on the remaining matches against Albania (Wednesday in Gelsenkirchen) and Italy (24.6. in Düsseldorf). His colleague De la Fuente, on the other hand, rejected hasty promotions from dark horse to title contender. “This was a shot of morality,” he conceded, but otherwise he urged restraint: “Calmness is power.”
The Spaniards were not only delighted with the victory, but also with the performance of Lamine Yamal (FC Barcelona), who provided the assist for Carvajal’s 3-0. He tore his leg at the age of 16 years, eleven months and two days the record of the youngest European Championship player. Since 2021, this had been in the hands of the Pole Kacper Kozlowski (17 years, 246 days), who was absent this time.
Yamal was not satisfied with just the record on Saturday. He repeatedly went on one-on-one adventures on the right wing; this is another stylistic device that is intended to give the Spanish game new depth. Yamal is not only busy with the European Championship, but also with his A-level exams. But his immediate goals are different: to become the youngest European Championship goalscorer and, above all, the youngest finalist in history. The previous record holders – the Swiss Johan Vonlanthen and the Portuguese Renato Sanches – were already 18 when they entered the Guinness Book of Records.