Spain up against Modric’s Croatia
Copenhagen, June 27: The good news for Spain came all at once, their fivegoal rout of Slovakia on Wednesday steering them clear of an early exit and restoring hope they could even win Euro 2020.
Luis Enrique said he would have taken any position in Group ‘E’ as long as Spain got through and yet from desperation came elation, a goal-fest in Seville transforming expectations after a whirlwind 60 minutes.
“Just like that,” came Marca’s headline on Thursday, while AS’s front cover read: ‘Permission to believe’.
Whether optimism proves brief or longer-lasting will depend on the outcome on Monday against Croatia, the World Cup finalists who appear to be growing into this competition themselves.
Croatia also qualified in second place and will certainly offer a sterner examination than Slovakia, who put up surely the worst performance of any team in all 36 matches of the group stage.
They might have profited from Spain’s goal-scoring angst had the floodgates not been so generously opened by their own goalkeeper Martin Dubravka.
After Alvaro Morata’s missed penalty, Dubravka flapping the ball into his own net was the perfect way to calm Spanish nerves and why doubts still linger around Spain being able to navigate tougher tests to come.
Their route to the final could be perilous. France are a potential foe in the quarter-finals and perhaps Italy, Belgium or Portugal in the semis.
Croatia may be a class below any of those but still a class above what Spain have faced so far, with their midfield of Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic and Mateo Kovacic possessing the guile to dominate the very best.
But Spain do have a spring in their step again, no matter how fortuitously they found it, and a victory in Copenhagen on Monday would give them genuine momentum too.
It would represent the country’s first quarterfinal at a major tournament since they were last Euro champions in 2012.
Morata’s finishing woes remain the chief concern, with the 28-year-old perhaps the only player not to leave La Cartuja feeling rejuvenated.
He stepped up to take Spain’s early penalty but missed, and then went off in the second half, only to watch his replacement Ferran Torres flick in at the near post 10 seconds later.
Luis Enrique picking Gerard Moreno to join, instead of oust, Morata has felt like a workable compromise but with others now making their case, his loyalty comes at a price.
Croatia will be counting on a similar regression towards the mean while Spain have to prove Slovakia really was a release, rather than a oneoff. —