The Spanish national team has been victorious. Two European Cup trophies and one World Cup in the early decades of this millennium are proof of their glory. However, their achievements slumped and declined sharply in the next decade.
Failing to get past the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup will be the last record for the 2010 World Cup winner. The team that was commanded by Luis Enrique was eliminated by the African representative, Morocco. This defeat then made Enrique resign as coach.
Luis de La Fuente then came on as a substitute. De La Fuente himself has a good record while with the junior national team by presenting the 2015 U-19 EURO and 2019 U-21 EURO and a silver medal at the 2022 Olympics.
And the arrival of De La Fuente immediately paid off. The Matador team regained its glory with the 2023 UEFA Nations League trophy. Spain won 5-4 over Croatia via penalty shootout in the match at the De Kuipp stadium, Rotterdam, Netherlands last night.
Dani Carvajal’s harvest kick was the winner for Spain last night. Coldly, the Real Madrid defender directed the ball into the middle and the Croatian goalkeeper, Bruno Livakovic, failed to anticipate. Previously, the Spanish goalkeeper looked mighty by thwarting two kicks from Lovro Majer and Bruno Petkovic.
The slick appearance of goalkeeper Unai Simon was the key to Spain’s victory in this match. The goalkeeper from Athletic Bilbao successfully thwarted a number of Croatian chances that Pasalic and Ivan Perisic got in the first half. Previously, a shot by Andrej Kamaric was also thwarted by defender, Aymeric Laporte.
In contrast, Spain’s game was underdeveloped in the first half. The disciplined game shown by Luca Modric and his friends made it difficult for Spain to get opportunities.
Spain itself just got up in the second half. Marco Asensio, Fabian Ruiz and Ansu Fati took turns creating chances for Spain, but were unable to find a goal. The best chance came to Fati in the 83rd minute, but the Barcelona player’s shot was thwarted by Perisic.
In the extra time round, the tempo of the game began to decrease a little. Players from both teams began to show fatigue. But Croatia still got one chance at the end of the first half of extra time through Marcelo Brozovic’s shot which was caught by goalkeeper Simon.
No goals were created for up to 120 minutes of the match and the match had to be continued with a penalty shootout. This round of high-fives finally determined the fate of Spain to regain their former glory by winning on penalties. Goalkeeper Simon showed his might by thwarting two penalties. Meanwhile, one Spanish player, Aymeric Laporta, failed to carry out his duties after his shot hit the post. Spain ensure victory with a score of 5-4.
Coach De La Fuente welcomed this first title. “The players have worked optimally. And we got the result we wanted. They have shown how to work professionally,” De La Fuente told TVE. This title is the first title for Spain in the second caste event of this European football tournament and at the same time makes up for their failure two years ago when they were defeated by France.
ASL
