Dani Olmo wanted a chance. And he got it against Albania: he responded with an assist for Ferran Torres. However, the player who had been labelled as Luis de la Fuente’s favourite returned to the bench for the match against Georgia. The coach placed Pedri in the attacking midfield position. “There is no battle with Pedri. We are teammates. I try to help my team,” said the Spanish number 10. He had had another chance. And, once again, he did not waste it. This time to seal Spain’s rout of Georgia, their ticket to the quarter-finals.
4
Unai Simon, Cucurella (Grimaldo, min. 66), Dani Carvajal (Jesus Navas, min. 80), Le Normand, Laporte, Pedri (Dani Olmo, min. 52), Fabian (Merino, min. 81), Rodrigo, Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Morata (Oyarzabal, min. 66)
1

Mamardashvili, Luka Lochoshvili (Heorhii Tsitaishvili, min. 63), Kashia, Dvali, Giorgi Gvelesiani, Kakabadze, Giorgi Chakvetadze (Zuriko Davitashvili, min. 63), Giorgi Kochorashvili, Otar Kiteishvili, Georges Mikautadze (Budu Zivzivadze, min. 79) and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Goals 0-1 min. 17: Le Normand (pp). 1-1 min. 38: Rodrigo. 2-1 min. 51: Fabian. 3-1 min. 75: Nico Williams. 4-1 min. 83: Dani Olmo.
Referee François Letexier
Yellow cards Morata (min. 43) and Zuriko Davitashvili (min. 70)
“Germany is one of the favourites, they are playing at home, but we are not afraid of anyone. It will be a very close match,” recalled Fabian. And Rodri, Spain’s football leader, stressed: “Germany must not be very happy to play against us. They are playing at home, but we have our weapons.” “But,” added the 16th; “we must improve some things if we want to go through.” Spain controlled the ball, but not the timing of the match against Georgia in Cologne. Until the pivot of the Roja raised his voice. “It was a match of patience, a match different from those we had played so far. We knew it was not going to be easy. We have to correct some things, in some phases we lacked forcefulness. And a bit of patience. I asked my teammates for a bit of calm. We could not lose control. My goal was the key to calmness, they, without doing anything out of the ordinary, scored against us.” Mamardashvili complained about the play: “The first goal is offside for sure. “Morata really bothers me.”
Rodri, however, continued with his analysis: “I think that, in general terms, we controlled the game well,” said the Manchester City midfielder. In the first half, Spain completed 399 passes compared to 395 in the second half. However, the speed at which they moved the ball changed after the break. That speed was reflected, for example, in the ability of the Reds to create danger: 2.16 expected goals In the second half; 0.90, in the first.
“The first half wasn’t us, missing easy passes, which is what they wanted. The goals didn’t come until we had a break,” said Fabián. And he completed: “Our football is that, moving the ball from one side to the other and reaching the area. Our bands have great quality. Lamine gave me an incredible ball.” In a band Carvajal and Yamal; in the other, Cucurella and Nico Williams. The Chelsea full-back and the Athletic striker have only played four games together. All with Spain. However, it seems that they have been combining on the left wing all their lives. “We have shown that we are a great team, we have to continue,” said the youngest Williams.
“All teams struggle to get to this stage, but it was a tricky game. It was eight or nine to one. You have to suffer when you don’t manage to capitalise on those chances,” said De la Fuente. “The reading is very positive and it is another step forward in terms of security, confidence… They are very happy because it was a very important game for everyone. We knew the importance of getting this far. Nobody gave us anything for free. First we have to recover and try to be a more recognisable team every day. Against Germany we have to give our best,” concluded the Spanish coach.
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