Spain hits the ground running with a resounding 3-0 victory against Croatia

It was noted as one of the great duels of the first phase of the Euro Cup, and Spain, a contender for the title, had a resounding 3-0 victory against Croatia this Saturday at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.

The Roja captain Álvaro Morata (28), Fabián Ruiz (32) and Dani Carvajal (45+2) left the match sentenced to rest half-time before the astonished gaze of the Croatian public, an overwhelming majority in the Berlin temple, the stage in which Jesse Owens achieved his feat against the Nazis at the 1936 Games.

Croatia, a semi-finalist in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, showed signs that the team has aged in this year and a half, in the image of its captain Luka Modric, who substituted with half an hour left after not having shined throughout the game.

Quite the opposite was seen of the Spanish child prodigy Lamine Yamal, who, at 16 years and 11 months, became the youngest soccer player to play in a European Championship, celebrating with a measured pass that Carvajal converted into the finishing touch.

Lamine Yamal and Bajrami make history

Albanian midfielder Nedim Bajrami also made history by scoring against Italy 23 seconds into the match, the fastest goal in the tournament's history.

The previous record was held by Russian Dmitri Kirichenko, who, in Euro 2004, opened the scoring against Greece after 67 seconds of the match.

Once the blow had been digested, the Azzurra, current European champions, came back with goals from Alessandro Bastoni (11) and Nicolo Barella (16).

However, Italy suffered until the end against the team coached by Brazilian Sylvinho, who, prior to this, was the Cinderella of the so-called 'Group of Death.'

In the 90th minute, goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved what would have been Albania's tying goal, which would have brought their fans, the majority in the Dortmund temple, to ecstasy.

Before the match, fifty Italian "high-risk fans" were arrested in Dortmund for being in possession of "dangerous objects" and seeking "confrontations with Albanian fans," German police reported.

Spain and Italy, rivals in the next match, share the lead with 3 points in this group B.

Return to regular soccer

Spain's exhibition came one day after the perfect night experienced by host Germany, which beat Scotland 5-1 with a festive atmosphere in Munich.

Bayern Munich's usual stadium, filled with 65,000 spectators, paid tribute to Franz Beckenbauer, the great glory of national soccer. He died at the beginning of the year, with his widow escorting the Henri Delaunay trophy.

These first two days of the Euro Cup have been an exciting return to traditional soccer after the previous Euro Cup 2021, divided into eleven countries and marked by the pandemic, which forced it to be postponed for a year. And a 2022 Qatar World Cup moved to winter, at least somewhat decaffeinated.

In the second match of group A, played in the first round this Saturday, Switzerland beat Hungary 3-1 in Cologne.