Lamine Yamal’s age is so scandalous that, when he is about to take a free kick on the edge of the area, the first thing one wonders is if he is of legal age to take it. A few minutes later, a deeply charged cross was taken from his boots, a happy and tense cross to the far post that Fabián finished with so much power that he put the ball and the goalkeeper inside. 2-1 and double relief: some merit was added to Spain’s momentary victory, which was overcoming an unexpected goal by Georgia in the first time they went on a tourist trip to the Spanish area. We had to do that stress test and what better way to do it than in the round of 16 and in the cruelest way, after a merciless avalanche by Spain on the Georgia goal.
15 minutes into the game it seemed like 60 minutes had been played. You looked at the television and rubbed your eyes: has really only this been played? Spain had reached the goal on ten occasions. In each play a beautiful tornado of passes was formed that invariably ended in the opposite area; the Malay drop, but without a clear end. They did not score and it did not matter because the volume of play and opportunities did not predict any setbacks: Georgia’s defense was not an impenetrable wall either. And that’s why it seemed like a long time had passed, because the fun and kind things that brighten our lives pass so quickly, in such a flirtatiously fleeting way, that it gives us the impression that it has been a lifetime when it has only been a few minutes. What weather, summer. Spain scored a goal and the relevant alarms were activated: what is it like to see a goal in the opponent’s locker? What is it like to be losing? How are you going to react?
After a few minutes of daze, the team returned to what it did: open play to the wings and mercilessly suffocate Georgia until they surrounded it in its area. Why the entire Georgian team is in the area and Rodri has two meters with the ball right in front is a matter of a few videos or a few training sessions. The midfielder didn’t even need to shoot with his good leg: with his left foot he placed it in the corner. Cruel moment because at that moment we realized at home that the broadcast was delayed; There was an explosion of joy throughout the neighborhood when Rodri was putting together the leg: what optimism!, we thought. Spain’s goal was followed by the usual monologue: insistent, heavy and brilliant. After the 2-1 score came the play of Nico Williams, full of light all night, fast and visible like a comet: he took the ball in a run and left his defense behind so easily that the neighborhood exploded with joy at the dodge. Dani Olmo finished off the score, which had the glitter of the comeback, the correct and necessary responses: you know how to play from behind, you know not to lose your nerve, you know how to temper the ball and you know not to lose your head. You know how to win.
Germany, the host country, is waiting. Spain is the favourite to win the Euro because it is the team that has played the best and won the best matches so far. It has more and better resources, an overwhelming physique, two giants in the centre in Fabian and Rodri, two stars in a state of grace and ready to make history in such a showcase in Yamal and Williams. But you can be the favourite to win the Euro and lose on Friday against Germany: in fact, that is how football works. Spain has to put the competition on track. The national team is already doing so.
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