Spain won the Nations League on penalties (5-4) against Croatia on Sunday in Rotterdam. The “Roja” thus returns to the highest level ten years after having dominated world football. The Croats, they once again let their luck pass and end up with the silver medal, as at the 2018 World Cup.
Published on: 06/19/2023 – 07:21
More than ten years after having reigned unchallenged over the world, Spain is returning to the heights by a narrower route, the League of Nations, won against Croatia (0-0, 5 pens to 4) which still lets escape the gold, Sunday June 18 in Rotterdam
After winning Euro-2008, World Cup-2010 and Euro-2012, Spain, “Roja” succeeds Portugal (2019) and France (2021) after the first final of this new tournament played on penalties.
Croatia, a specialist in exercise, lost after four successes at the previous Worlds, Rennais Lovro Majer then Bruno Petkovic saw Unai Simon stop their attempt.
Aymeric Laporte had however offered a reprieve to the Croats by hitting his match point on the bar on the last shot of the series of five.
The French-born defender still took his revenge, two years after his failure at the same stage of the competition, against the Blues (2-1), in Milan.
It’s also revenge for the new coach, already threatened after his second meeting at the head of the “seleccion”, a defeat in Scotland (2-0), and who won a trophy after the fourth!
atmosphere of fire
The Rodri generation, shaped by Luis Enrique and retouched by de la Fuente, imposed itself as outside, in a crazy atmosphere with the songs of the Croats, possessed.
The Croatians still end up with the silver medal, as at the 2018 World Cup, and add this medal to the two bronzes of the 1998 and 2022 Worlds, but still no gold.
The Croats can console themselves with the unofficial title of best public in Europe, and hope that captain Luka Modric, 37, will not want to retire internationally on this failure.
Fortunately there was this atmosphere to make people forget a final which did not keep the promises of previous duels between the two teams, 6-0 for Spain then 3-2 for Croatia in the fall of 2018 , and 5-3 ap for La Roja at the last Euro, in the 1/8 final.
The boiling De Kuip stadium, which looked like a giant checkerboard, almost exclusively occupied by red and white checkered jerseys, except for two red and yellow boxes for the 6,000 Spaniards.
Announced 25,000, the Croats were much more numerous. All day Sunday their famous tunic was visible in the arteries of the great Dutch port.
Spain without trembling
But dressed in blue, the Croats failed to diffuse this fever on the ground. If possession was to their advantage, Spain had more chances, the first for Alvaro Morata (9) Gavi (12), Marco Asensio (57) or Rodri (66).
Croatia had their chance by Andrej Kramaric or Mario Pasalic, blocked by the “Frenchman” Robin (24) before hitting later in the side-net (61).
The Vatreni did not make their possession better because Petkovic in particular, hero of the quarter against Brazil, entered in place of Pasalic (62), multiplied the bad choices, sometimes angering his teammates. And the unfortunate missed the fatal shot on goal…
Ansu Fati could have avoided extra time without a save on his line from Ivan Perisic (84), still excellent, on a real match point. Players had already risen from the Spanish bench to run and celebrate the goal.
After regulation time, Nacho also managed a save, heeling the ball into the feet of Lovro Majer, who was spinning on goal (100). Almost the whole stadium claimed the penalty, but the gesture was regular.
Finally Dani Olmo, former Dinamo Zagreb from 16 to 22 years old, “crunched” two new match points (104, 108).
But Spain held on nervously this time, after two eliminations in quick succession against Italy and Morocco. They beat the Croatian specialists. La Roja is back.
With AFP
