European Championship exclamation mark against Croatia
Ruthless Spaniards celebrate record-breaking teen and great football
15.06.2024, 19:57
The Spanish national football team enchants Berlin: In the Olympic Stadium, the young wild ones defeat the Croatian veteran ensemble around Real legend Luka Modrić. For the Spaniards, 16-year-old Lamine Yamal is hard to stop and sets a new record.
The Spaniards clapped each other on the back and received well-deserved applause from the fans, while Luka Modrić looked down at the ground, embarrassed. With class and merciless effectiveness, the “Furia Roja” made a dream start at the European Football Championship and impressively underlined their title ambitions. The Spaniards deservedly won their difficult opening match in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium against World Cup third-placed Croatia, led by veteran Modrić, 3-0 (3-0), thus opening the door to the round of 16.
He noticed a “great enthusiasm” in his team, said Spain’s captain Álvaro Morata on MagentaTV. The 31-year-old himself had put his team in the lead. He also thanked the Spanish fans. The atmosphere was “wonderful”. They had “done a great job” and were very united, said Fabián Ruiz, who was named player of the match. After a tactically focused first half hour, Morata (29th minute) opened the scoring for the three-time European champions in front of 68,844 spectators. The Atlético Madrid striker had already scored against Croatia at the European Championships in 2016 and 2021. The eye-catching Fabián Ruiz (32nd) and Daniel Carvajal (45th+2) added more before the break.
Gates: 1:0 Morata (29.), 2:0 Fabian Ruiz (32.), 3:0 Carvajal (45.+3)
Spain: Unai Simon – Carvajal, Le Normand, Nacho, Cucurella – Pedri (59. Olmo), Rodri (86. Zubimendi), Fabian Ruiz – Yamal (86. Torres), Morata (67. Oyarzabal), Williams (68. Merino). – Trainer: of the fountain
Croatia: Livakovic – Stanisic, Sutalo, Pongracic, Gvardiol – Modric (65. Pasalic), Brozovic, Kovacic (65. Sucic) – Majer, Budimir (56. Perisic), Kramaric (72. Petkovic). – Trainer: Dalic
Referee: Michael Oliver (England)
Yellow cards: Rodri –
Special incident: Simon saves penalty from Petkovic (80th)
Viewers: 68,844 in Berlin
A supposed goal by the Croatians by Bruno Petkovic (80th minute), who was able to put the ball in the net after missing his penalty, was disallowed because the assist provider Ivan Perišić had run into the penalty area too early when taking the penalty. Spain now goes into the top match of Group B on Thursday against Italy with significantly less pressure. Croatia was already under pressure against outsiders Albania the day before.
16-year-old puts Modrić in the shade
Young star Lamine Yamal had two reasons to be happy: at the age of 16 years and 338 days, the FC Barcelona professional is now the youngest player to play at a European Football Championship. Yamal, who turns 17 the day before the final, was often sought after on the right side of attack, and with one of his dangerous dribbles he set up the Spaniards’ second goal.
Yamal had not even been born when Croatia’s star player Modrić made his debut for his home country. “We are here to achieve great things,” the 38-year-old said before kick-off. But to do so, his team must improve significantly – just like Modrić himself. The playmaker had a lot of freedom until he was substituted in the 65th minute, as expected, but did not have much of an impact on the game. Croatia clearly had the upper hand in the stands at the Olympic Stadium. The fans of the “Vatreni” (Fiery Ones) created a great European Championship atmosphere, at least until the first goals were conceded. European Championship Organising Committee head Philipp Lahm and UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin were also witnesses of this in the VIP stands.
After half an hour things get going
The action on the pitch was not that entertaining at first. Both teams showed respect for each other and were lacking the rhythm of the tournament. After just under half an hour, however, the dynamic changed completely. Spain took the lead with the first dangerous attack when Fabián Ruiz sent his captain Morata on his way with a fine through pass and the striker scored with a well-considered low shot.
Just a minute later, Mateo Kovacic had the equalizer for Croatia, but Spain’s goalkeeper Unai Simon was on the spot. The missed opportunity was immediately punished with a second goal: This time it was Fabián Ruiz himself, who left three Croatians behind during his solo and shot the ball flat into the goal with his left foot. But the two-goal deficit did not shock the Croatians, Lovro Majer (33′) and Josko Gvardiol (41′) had good opportunities to score in the first half. But almost as the half-time whistle blew, the next blow came with Carvajal’s 0:3.
After the break, the Croatians increased the pressure and played more offensively, but even the best chances, such as that of Leverkusen’s Josip Stanisic (55th), were not exploited. The Spaniards, who were replaced by Leipzig’s Dani Olmo after an hour, now had more space to counterattack.