A new Spain, in more ways than one. As Lamine Yamalwho was not even a year old when he won Euro 2008, became the first youngest football player to play in a European Championship and then, before the break, the youngest to score a goal in one, Luis de la Fuente made a break with the past.
With less ball possession and more power, Spain looked like a team trying to shake off the influence of their champion teams. They had 47% possession but scored three goals. After coming off successive World Cups in knockout games where they attempted over 1,000 passes eachbut seemed to show very little interest in scoring, this was Spain but not as we knew it.
Nor, really, was it Croatia as we know them: the great survivors, the tournament team whose powers of resilience took them to the bottom of the World Championships, were strangely inert. It was the Croatia of old, as Luka Modric became the oldest player ever at a European Championship, as he started with a midfield trio with 376 caps between them and the first substitute used was Ivan Perisic . The faces were familiar, but there was none of the usual resilience.
For Spain there was a newcomer, Yamal. He had played just seven minutes of first-team football before this season. It took him further and faster than could have been predicted; at 16, he replaced Poland’s Kacper Kozłowski as the youngest player at this stage, around nine months younger. Perhaps a venue famous for Jesse Owens’ speed would be the appropriate venue for his major tournament debut, but if everything happened quickly for Yamal, he has inherent speed, accompanied by a touch of class. The ability to slide away from opponents is combined with a beautiful left foot.
This earned Yamal the assist and Spain’s third goal before half-time. It happened with the combination of generations, a teenager creating a 32-year-old person.
Suddenly prolific, Dani Carvajal appeared to shoot after Yamal’s cross. After the final goal of the Champions League, it was further proof of the right-back’s predatory instincts. There was almost proof of Yamal. He was denied a goal by a fine save from Dominik Livakovic. He may have had a second assist with a cross that hit Álvaro Morata’s thigh.
And yet, part of the seductive element of this Spanish team is the way in which De la Fuente has brought together very different figures: the caricature of interchangeable passers is now very outdated; whereas nominal wingers used to be more of a midfielder, now Yamal and Nico Williams offered genuine width. There are young and old – the oldest of all, Jesus Navas, didn’t leave the bench – and different types of players.
The other star emerging from a loss is hardly a rookie. Nor, perhaps, a quintessential Spanish midfielder of the 21st century. Perhaps, after six seasons abroad, with no connection to Barcelona, Fabian Ruiz hardly belongs to the Spanish school; he may feel more Italian in some ways. If the criticism is that some Spanish midfielders had little final product, Ruiz provided an assist and a goal in four minutes.
In the process, he transformed the game. The first 28 minutes were a stroll in the Berlin sun. The next four brought a change of direction from Spain and two goals; Croatia, however, was guilty of both.
It is perhaps too simplistic to attribute the first goal to coach Zlatko Dalic’s decision to play Josko Gvardiol at left-back. But with the transfer of the excellent defender from the last World Cup, there was a considerable gap between the two men seemingly in the middle of the defense, Josip Sutalo and Marin Pongracic, as Ruiz placed the ball into the striker’s path. Morata. He hit a shot and in the process advanced past David Silva. Spain’s 36th goal puts them alone in fourth place on the all-time list.
If the feeling was that it was too easy, the same could be said when Spain scored the second. As skilled as Ruiz was at turning on the edge of the box, Marcelo Brozovic did little to stop him before shooting, albeit with a slight deflection. This altered the atmosphere: with the Croatians far outnumbering the Spanish in the stands, red and white checks covered much of the Olympiastadion.
Ardent followers had little to celebrate. Marc Cucurella thwarted Croatia once, flying in to block Ante Budimir’s shot. Even when Croatia thought they had scored – Bruno Petkovic scored after Unai Simon had saved his penalty – the goal was disallowed because Perisic invaded the area to get the rebound. But the penalty itself – when Rodri may have been lucky not to be sent off for tripping Petkovic – resulted from Simon’s failed attempt to pass out on the six-yard line. It was yet another reminder to Spain that passing isn’t everything. It’s not the way De la Fuente’s team is playing.
