Bryan Zaragoza pulls Spain without Lamine Yamal: “Personality”

Bryan Zaragoza entered the list at the last minute Luis De la Fuente for matches against Denmark y Swiss. Against the Nordic team he was left out of the final list. However, he ended up joining the definitive players against the Swiss team… and participating in the final stretch of the game. And in what way! In the absence of Lamine Yamalbudding star of this Spanish National Teamhe decided that this match was not going to be lost. And so it happened.

That’s the way it is, Bryan Zaragoza income in the 69th minute party to replace Jeremy Pinowho scored the first goal of the match. He entered the field of play with Spain in the lead, after his namesake’s goal Bryan Gil. They were a difficult few minutes, with Switzerland trying to spread out and without opportunities to run on the counterattack. To make matters worse, Fabián Ruiz would commit a penalty arriving late to a split ball.

The winger from Malaga, who had barely received the ball until then, was in defensive work when the penalty happened. Then, he approached the referee to angrily protest the decision, which cost him a yellow card. Who knows if that warning was the spark that lit the fuse of their dizzying final minutes.

And after the goal, he didn’t stop asking for the ball. On a couple of occasions he looked for Samu Omorodion in depth, although the striker barely managed to get oil from these occasions. ‘I’m on the hook,’ Bryan Zaragoza must have thought, because the next play, instead of looking for a teammate, he tried his luck with his skillful dribbling ability. After successfully getting out of between the rival legs, he put the ball into the heart of the area. Nothing. ‘I’ll take a chance, but this time I’ll smoke it,’ he must have thought now.

Bryan Zaragoza defines himself: “My game is based on that”

It was then that he received a very heeled position but decided to go inwards. He evaded one rival, dribbled the second and finally left the third. This one, clumsily, tripped to Bryan Zaragoza, promoting a very clear penalty. Far from rejoicing on the ground waiting for a card, the winger quickly got up and grabbed the ball, pointing to himself. ‘I’ll throw it. Fabi, I’ll throw it.’ he seemed to say to Fabián Ruiz, who came to pick up the ball to take the penalty himself. As if they were a father and a son, Fabián Ruiz caressed his partner’s head and resigned himself.

But Bryan Zaragoza only had one thing between his eyebrows: the ball. When teammates came to wish him luck, he only saw the penalty spot: ‘yes, I’ll take it.’ And thus he became the decisive player of the match.

Later, Bryan Zaragoza himself explained his decision like this: “My game is based on dribbling, every time I have the ball I try to do it. The penalty thing was a bit of personality“he said into the microphones of TVE, without his voice shaking in the slightest.

“I was on the bench wanting to take over the field. I let the coach know and that’s how it happened,” he said about his contribution from the bench. And it is clear that there are all the options in the world. In the absence of Lamine Yamal, both Yeremy Pino and Bryan Zaragoza in this match, as well as Mikel Oyarzabal against Denmark, have shown that they can perform in that right profile of the attack.