77% ball possession, 1019 passes, 90% successful passes. Did you recognize it? It is indeed a caricature of pick-up. This football farce did exist, and was offered to us by Spain on December 6, 2022 in the quarter-finals of the World Cup against Morocco. Result: only one shot on target out of thirteen attempted, elimination on penalties, and a whiny Rodri. But a little less than two years later, the Iberians are finally done with the utopia guardioliste. For this Euro 2024, the Roja indeed offers one of the most beautiful shows of the competition, thanks to fluid, fast, technical play. Luis de la Fuente’s men owe this pretty ensemble (largely) to two novices: Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, new symbols of Spanish beauty.
Young and ambitious
To illustrate the point, the reference is obviously to Gelsenkirchen. On June 20, Spain challenged Italy for the second day of the group stage and one of the first shocks of the Euro. The short victory (1-0) did not pay tribute to the performance of the Reds, whose offensive waves only came up against the solidity of Gianluigi Donnarumma, abandoned by his defense. Among the main protagonists, Lamine Yamal and Williams took great pleasure in mixing up their respective full-backs, Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Federico Di Marco.
Elusive in his right lane, author of a heavy strike on the crossbar and involved in his team’s only goal – pushing Riccardo Calafiori to score against his camp following a vicious cross, Nico Williams logically left with the trophy man of the match. For his part, if he also delighted against the Transalpines, Lamine Yamal especially struck hard against Croatia in the opening, boasting in particular a nice decisive pass for Dani Carvajal, who came to close the local festival (3-0). In this exciting context, it is always pleasant to remember that these two aesthetes remain babies: 21 years old for the Basque, 16 years old for the Catalan – just crowned with his end of college diploma.
Defense dynamiters
This hard-hitting game, more in line with current football – which some may criticize – Spain has therefore learned to live with it, as the world had learned to live with its style of possession. In our columns, Carles Martínez Novell, coach of Toulouse, also confirmed this obligatory adaptation: « Football is taking a direction that requires dominating all phases of the game, the possession phase, the defensive phase and the offensive and defensive transitions. The Spanish are also affected by this evolution and must adapt. » However, during the hegemony of pick-up and some Roja, the wingers had a vital role, before being stifled by the all-powerful midfielder. Thus, between 2008 and 2014, Spain could count on Pedro, David Villa, even David Silva, to supply its corridors. A choice claimed by Vicente del Bosque, aware of having to bring variety to his system so as not to fall into caricature.
Today, this torch finally seems to have been taken up by Lamal and Nico Williams. Pure wingers, supported by in-tune full-backs. Significant contribution. On the left band, this Euro has indeed made it possible to (re)discover the hyperactive Marc Cucurella. Unrecognizable at Chelsea, the tufted defender transcends himself in Germany, for example winning 77% of his duels (17 duels out of 22 contested, Opta), the highest total in the group stage. On the right strip, Dani Carvajal continues to excel, finally seeming to transpose his Real Madrid prowess to the selection – one of the only elements missing from his palette so far. Long stuck in a middle war, Spain found a viable solution. That of the wings.
Spain Georgia Prediction: Analysis, odds and prediction for the round of 16 of Euro 2024
