Oyarzabal is already a world crack

Mikel Oyarzabal is among the best players in the world. It is consecrated and can be elevated to that category. There are no longer doubts. It is the same that public opinion, especially national, does not properly assess the conditions and parties that the Eibar has been carrying out in recent years. His two coaches, the ones who have to put him on the green, are aware that they have a 24-year-old diamond in the rough that does not stop growing. Nobody knows where your limits are. What is palpable is that if he wants to, if he wants to continue his career at Real for many years, he can break all records. At the moment, he is consecrated as ‘míster finals’.

During the previous one, no one doubted it. Oyarzabal was going to be the ‘9’ of the selection and the Asturian placed him at the tip of the spear. And the realist, doing the abnormal of something everyday, played a great game while fighting and sharing a team with the best players on the planet. Oyarzabal had to stick with Varane, Koundé and Kimpembe, three central trunks that in the first half went crazy chasing the ’21’ who yesterday was wearing red. He left his place to disrupt the defense, combined effectively to move the ball fast, made a suit for Varane who gave thanks for being injured and scored the goal that made the team dream of winning the Nations League. End that plays, end in which it marks. In the last six months Oyarzabal has played three finals and scored in all three.

He was the hero in La Cartuja by scoring a penalty that will remain in the history of all the txuri-urdin and he also found in the Olympic final even though it was insufficient to get the most desired medal. And yesterday, in a new, fun tournament where the best European teams have competed, he made a play in the purest Oyarzabal style to make it 1-0.

Much earlier he was already warming up to launch a penalty that the Englishman Anthony Taylor did not decree. Rodri crossed and the ball hit Koundé’s arm, whose arm was separated from the body and in a position where it took up unnecessary space. The VAR did not consider it that way and in the first half there were not too many occasions, leaving the two teams the final fireworks for the second 45 minutes.

It was France who put fear in the body of Spain. A beautiful French combinatorial move ended with a shot from the former realist hitting the crossbar. The meeting then entered a frantic, passionate stretch of pure football and art. Like the one Oyarzabal drew with a karat action. He does not care to play nine, winger, indoor or be Zubieta’s outfielder. In all, it borders on perfection. The leather was in Busquets’ boots and Oyarzabal made a run inside. Upamecano hit and gave meters, key for the Eibar to have an advantage in the race. But the Frenchman rebuilt and Oyarzabal collided with him to have a millimeter of a second to polish his work of art. Stumbling, he shot with the left cross while Lloris could only follow the play with his eyes. Because of the action, because of the context, because of everything that was done in the last calendar year, Oyarzabal could be among the 30 nominees for the Ballon d’Or. “It’s Oyarzabal’s Spain,” they said during the broadcasts. But the joy did not last long because in the field was the one who perhaps deserves the aforementioned award.

With hardly time to savor the goal, Benzema overthrew all of Oyarzabal’s plans. The Frenchman got a great goal out of nowhere from far away. This play, also at the height of very few. Benzema controlled away from the area and shot with the inside giving his shot a perfect parabola for the ball to enter through the very square. Simón flew and tried to stop the shot with a changed hand reaching to touch the ball, but not enough to tie the game. There were 25 minutes left and the game could not be more beautiful, until the controversy blurred the final.

Mbappé appears

This time it was Mbappé who appeared as the main actor. Theo put a good pass into space for the PSG player, who was in an offside position. But then Eric García entered, who threw himself to the ground trying to stop the pass that Mbappé was waiting for. The Barcelona player did not clear the skin and went to the French star, who faced Simón, dribbled and made it 1-2 when everyone was looking at Taylor. Consulted by the VAR, the goal ended up going up to the scoreboard since Mbappé conditions the clearance of the central, but does not interfere. It is what is written in the rule, as much as it should be modified so that these types of plays were more fair.

France took the lead, but Spain had two chances to take the game into extra time while another star from Zubieta like Griezmann went unnoticed. Luis Enrique got the realist Merino, who was able to give an assistance to his partner Oyarzabal in case Lloris did not emerge as a French hero. The Navarrese raised the periscope and centered an Oyarzabal who put together a perfect volley in search of the equalizer. But in front was Lloris, who flew, put her right forearm like a stone and denied the tie to the txuri-urdin. Immediately afterwards, Pino shot with the same aim, to tie, but the goalkeeper appeared again, who ended up truncating a perfect Nations League of Oyarzabal, which is consecrated as one of the best in the world; two perfect assists to Ferran against Italy and both in the final.