Pedri flourishes, Spain rejoices. After the rout against Andorra last Wednesday in Badajoz (5-0), La Roja adds momentum and confidence against Northern Ireland in Mallorca (5-1). Two duels without too much muscle or tension, but enough for Luis De la Fuente to finish making the list and begin to outline the eleven for the Euro Cup. The clash against the British team is especially important, in which Spain begins to show its cards. With Dani Olmo between cottons, Pedri, who debuted with Spain as a scorer, raises his hand and Morata silences the ghosts after five games without scoring for the national team.
5
Unai Simón, Le Normand, Cucurella (Grimaldo, min. 45), Jesús Navas (Dani Carvajal, min. 45), Nacho (Laporte, min. 52), Pedri (Merino, min. 60), Fabián, Rodrigo, Morata ( Oyarzabal, min. 52), Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams
1
Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Eoin Toal, Trai Hume, Evans, Dan Ballard, Jamal Lewis, Conor Bradley (Ross McCausland, min. 65), Caolan Boyd-Munce, Isaac Price (Conor McMenamin, min. 83), Shea Charles and Jamie Reid
Goals 0-1 min. 1: Dan Ballard. 1-1 min. 11: Pedri. 2-1 min. 18: Morata. 3-1 min. 29: Pedri. 4-1 min. 35: Fabian. 5-1 min. 59: Oyarzabal.
Referee Bastien Dechepy
Yellow cards Le Normand (min. 5) and Isaac Price (min. 64)
One week before the Euro Cup opener, next Saturday against Croatia at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, De la Fuente is beginning to reveal his intentions. The signs began on Friday when he published the final call for the expedition that leaves for Germany this Sunday without the striking losses of Cubarsí and Marcos Llorente, and continued, now with clearer clues (this time not surprising) this Saturday against Ireland North in Son Moix. Among the coach’s few unknowns was Pedri. And the canary appeared to bring peace: first to the coach and then to the team.
The night in Mallorca started cold, in the stands (about 20,000 spectators, the stadium was not full), but also on the grass. It didn’t take even two minutes for Northern Ireland to knock on Unai Simón’s door. And, when he did, the Athletic goalkeeper’s stretch was useless against Ballard’s precise header after a lateral foul. Succession of errors at the back; Le Normand unsuccessfully went far from his zone to try to stop an Irish attack, while Nacho and Nico Williams posed for a photo in front of Ballard’s jump.
The blow, in any case, did not change the self-esteem of De la Fuente’s boys. The fragility of Le Normand contrasted with the security of Nacho, present in the eleven in the face of the uncertainty surrounding Laporte. But since Nacho rarely fails, all eyes fell on Pedri, who sought to erase his emotional ups and downs from memory.
The canary was precisely one of the names to follow by De la Fuente. For the coach, there are two footballers that no one moves from his ideal team: Rodri and Dani Olmo. In La Roja it is clear that the City player is the team’s compass in the center of the field, while Dani Olmo can jump from the left wing to the midfield, always ready to position himself as a false 9. In that context, Pedri had to give a step forward. Especially because Nico Williams attacked and attacked Northern Ireland on the left wing while Morata loaded up the confidence bar (and how he needed it!) with his 35th goal for the Spanish team. The Atlético striker has already climbed to fourth position in the national team’s top scorers, now tied with David Silva.
Spain’s quick reaction against Northern Ireland awakened Rodri’s clairvoyance, Nico’s insistence, Morata’s goal, but essentially Pedri’s flourishing. The initial 4-3-3 usually mutates into a 4-2-3-1 and it is precisely in that scheme, behind Morata, when the Canary Islander turned on the new version of him. Actually, the old one. But now with enough confidence to take a powerful shot with his right leg to tie the duel, also with the physical spark to sneak into the area and send Nico Williams’ good center back into the net, a dagger every time he put the turbo when he opened on the wing, but also intelligent to play between the lines when he joined Pedri and Morata closer to the crescent.
While waiting for Dani Olmo to recover from physical discomfort, Spain’s attack had fun against Northern Ireland. And I didn’t even need Lamine Yamal to appear. The pearl of Barcelona was cornered on the shore and his football appeared and disappeared, an intermittency similar to the one he had in Xavi’s team during the season, nothing strange in a 17-year-old young man. But, at that time, Unai Simón was no longer seen and that was when De la Fuente opted for the carousel of changes. The first, another of his pending issues: the left back, Grimaldo for Cucurella. Because on the other wing, Carvajal plays safe. Then it was the time of Laporte and Oyarzabal. And, as against Andorra, the Real Sociedad striker once again showed his scoring power after Lamine’s pass.
Spain is happy for Pedri, but also for Morata. She is already used to Rodri’s football and Nico and Lamine’s attacks.
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