It was marked as one of the great duels of the first phase of the Eurocup, and Spain, a title contender, made a statement with a resounding 3-0 victory over Croatia on Saturday at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.
The captain of La Roja, Álvaro Morata (28), Fabián Ruiz (32), and Dani Carvajal (45+2) sealed the match by halftime in front of the astonished Croatian crowd, a majority in the Berlin temple, the venue where Jesse Owens made his mark against the Nazis in the 1936 Olympics.
Croatia, a semifinalist in the Qatar 2022 World Cup, showed signs of aging in this year and a half, mirroring their captain Luka Modric, who was substituted with half an hour left after not shining throughout the match.
In contrast, the Spanish prodigy Lamine Yamal, at 16 years and 11 months old, became the youngest footballer to play in a Eurocup, celebrating with a precise pass that Carvajal turned into the final blow.
Lamine Yamal Makes History
Among the Spaniards, Fabián Ruiz also stood out, the Paris SG midfielder who assisted Morata’s first goal and scored the second with a great individual effort, earning him the title of the most valuable player of the match.
La Roja’s demonstration came a day after the perfect night experienced by hosts Germany, who thrashed Scotland 5-1 in a festive atmosphere in Munich.
A peaceful invasion of Scottish fans in Munich, with a warm welcome from the hosts and plenty of beer, set the stage in the Bavarian capital for the start of the party among European neighbors.
Return to Traditional Football
At the Munich Arena, with 65,000 spectators, there was a tribute to Franz Beckenbauer, the national football legend who passed away earlier this year, with his widow escorting the Henri Delaunay trophy.
It was an emotional return to traditional football after the previous Eurocup in 2021, fragmented across eleven countries and marked by the pandemic, which forced a one-year postponement, and a somewhat underwhelming Qatar 2022 World Cup held in winter.
For Germany, new talents stood out, the twenty-somethings Florian Wirtz, who scored the tournament’s first goal, and Jamal Musiala, the first MVP.
“We couldn’t have had a better start. We’ve seen the atmosphere throughout the country, and we needed it,” said Musiala about the connection they want to create with the fans.
Behind them, the metronome that has brought direction back to a team that had lost it in 2023, Toni Kroos, in the first match of the tournament that will see him retire from football. Will it be in the final on July 14 in Berlin?
For now, the audience supports the German team’s euphoria, with 22.49 million viewers on public television following the opening duel, a figure much higher than the 17 million who watched Germany’s matches in Qatar 2021 against Spain and Costa Rica.
In the second match of group A, played in the first slot this Saturday, Switzerland defeated Hungary 3-1 in Cologne.
Another Revenge for Italy –
To close Saturday’s action, in the Ruhr area, at Dortmund’s stadium, Italy, forever the champion in covid times (2021), will play. This joy came between two unimaginable disappointments for the four-time world champion: failing to qualify for Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022.
They begin against Albania (19:00 GMT), the group’s “Cinderella,” led by Brazilian Sylvinho.
