Spain heads to the second round with full
The national team defeats Albania with a goal from Ferran Torres and with ‘unit B’ and will reach the crossroads with all triumphs and without conceding
MADRID, 24 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish men’s soccer team signed full points this Monday in Group B of the Euro Cup in Germany after beating Albania by a solitary 1-0, thanks to an early goal from Ferran Torres that decided a clash that they faced with many rotations to reserve energy for the first ‘final’ of the tournament next Sunday.
Spain will play in the round of 16 in Cologne after an immaculate group stage, both in terms of wins and goals conceded. A performance that will now have to be confirmed in the head-to-head matches that it will face after resting many of its theoretical starters, of which only Aymeric Laporte, Robin Le Normand, Lamine Yamal and Álvaro Morata played.
It was a third game that helped Luis de la Fuente to ‘connect’ all his players and that had two different times, one first where he was much superior to his rival, and a second where he dropped a bit and barely had any clear chances. In the end, a ‘bite’ from the ‘Shark’ Ferran Torres, ‘MVP’ of the match, was worth the victory and to eliminate an Albania that lacked more powerful arguments up front.
As expected, De la Fuente varied his eleven a lot compared to the first two games. It was not entirely because he kept Laporte in the center of a defense where Raya, in goal, Navas, Vivian and Grimaldo also debuted, with their first minutes in the tournament, as did Joselu.
Despite changing their idea of the first two matches, in the absence of their two ‘daggers’, and an intense start from Albania that did not go any further, Spain did not take long to dominate or open the scoring through one of their best scorers like Ferran Torres. After two warnings in the form of headers from Mikel Merino and Joselu, Dani Olmo, in his favorite position of ’10’, filtered a great pass to the Valencian who defined with quality and crossed against Strakosha.
The first mission, to open the scoring early, was achieved, but that did not change their approach too much. Sylvinho Mendes’ men did not go ‘crazy’ for the tie and that facilitated the dominance of the current Nations League champion, although the chances appeared in dribs and drabs and only when the ball reached Dani Olmo.
The final stretch once again brought chances for the Spanish team, but the RB Leipzig footballer saw how a defender blocked his shot close to the goal in time and, after several attempts by Grimaldo, neither Ferran Torres, with his head, nor Merino, With their left foot in a good position, they found the goal. At the back, Vivian and Laporte neutralized any attack by the Albanian team who, just before the break, had their best chance with a powerful shot from Asllani and a good intervention from Raya.
SPAIN LOOSES
The second half did not change the script too much, although Albania did want to take a step forward, which did not translate into dangerous occasions, but rather the appearance of more spaces. Joselu, in a complicated position, ‘hunted’ Grimaldo’s umpteenth attack, almost making it 0-2 at the beginning of the second act where Le Normand gave Laporte air despite being warned.
Croatia’s goal against Italy encouraged the Balkan fans more, but not so much for their team, who did not finish taking risks definitively to seek a comeback that they could achieve and leave the ‘Azzurra’ out. Fermín López then made his debut in the tournament for an ill-advised Oyarzabal, while Broja, who had entered for Manaj, had a very good chance to tie, with Raya once again attentive.
They were the best moments of Sylvinho’s team and De la Fuente did not hesitate and refreshed the attack with the introductions of Álvaro Morata and Lamine Yamal for Joselu and Ferran, respectively. Spain had lowered its level compared to the beginning and the score did not allow it to get carried away too much for the last quarter of an hour, much more back and forth. The winger left some detail of his immense quality, but the scoreboard did not move despite Albania’s final attempts, well supported by a confident Raya.
DATASHEET.
–RESULT: ALBANIA, 0 – SPAIN, 1 (0-1, at halftime).
–ALIGNMENTS.
ALBANIA: Strakosha; Balliu, Djimsiti, Ayeti, Mitaj; Asllani, Ramadan; Asani (Muçi, min. 81), Laçi (Berisha, min. 70), Bajrami (Hoxha, min. 70); y Manaj (Broja, min.58).
SPAIN: Raya; Navas, Vivian, Laporte (Le Normand, min.46), Grimaldo; Merino, Zubimendi; Ferran (Yamal, min.71), Olmo (Baena, min.84), Oyarzabal (Fermín, min.62); y Joselu (Morata, min.71).
–GOALS.
0-1, minute 13. Ferran Torres.
–REFEREE: Glenn Nyberg (SUE). He cautioned Bajrami (min.66), Berisha (min.88), for Albania, and Vivian (min.90), for Spain.
–ESTADIO: Merkur Spiel-Arena de Düsseldorf.