Pedri and Zaragoza light up Spain | Soccer | Sports

On a magical night for Tenerife, with the return of La Roja to the island, the duel was marked by penalties. A luck that was sometimes sweet and sometimes bitter for a fan who enjoyed Spain’s victory over Switzerland (3-2), as well as the presence of an omnipresent Pedri and, above all, the mischievous and fun football of Bryan Zaragoza.

The fans in Tenerife wanted the party to be complete. So, not only did Spain have to win, but they also had to score a canary. None, then, better than Pedri. The Barça player, born in Tegueste, had only played one game for Heliodoro Rodríguez López and he had done so with the Las Palmas shirt. Therefore, when Morata was looking to score his 38th goal with Spain to reach none other than his idol Fernando Torres, the fans began to sing Pedri’s name. The captain did not hesitate, he does not usually do so when it comes to distributing the game. But Morata could not catch El Niño nor could Pedri become the first Canarian to score a goal with the Spain shirt in the Archipelago. Any problem? None, the rebound was caught by another Canarian, Yeremy Pino, who sent the ball into the net.

It happened, however, that the penalty missed by Pedri was not the only one that marked the duel in Tenerife. There was even more suspense missing in the archipelago. When the game seemed to be closing in favor of La Roja, Fabián tried to reject the leather in the Spain area and ended up knocking down Sierro. It was the 85th minute and Zeqiri did not miss from 11 meters. It was at that moment when the night of Pedri and La Roja’s party threatened to be tinged with a sweet bitterness in Tenerife. But there was a natural dribbler who had something to say: Bryan Zaragoza appeared to sneak into the area with a dribble and force a new penalty. The third of the duel, the final one for Spain to claim victory.

At the Heliodoro Rodríguez López, the roar of the fans after the last penalty scored by Zaragoza was as spectacular in clamoring for Pedri as was their silence when the Canary Islander was rolling on the ground after Amdouni’s strong stomp. There were no doubts in Tenerife: the enthusiasm of the fans was proportional to that of Pedri, willing to take control of Spanish football to begin to recover his untouchable status in Luis de la Fuente’s eleven, in doubt since Dani Olmo He took advantage of his moment in the Euro Cup, precisely after the injury of the 20, also dressed as a star player in the Red’s victory against Denmark in Copenhagen. Pedri was not the only active footballer in Tenerife, the wingers also appeared: Yeremy Pino, Bryan Gil and Brian Zaragoza woke up the Tenerife fans, especially the Girona and Osasuna forwards, daring and shameless when Spain was having the worst time after the tie of Monteiro.

Pedri and Zaragoza electrified in Tenerife, on a night that hinted at exuding a certain laziness for Spain and Switzerland. La Roja not only arrived at the Tenerife duel with a stamped visa to the quarterfinals, but had also secured first place in the group. Switzerland, on the other hand, was relegated. But De la Fuente and Murat Yakin were in charge of erasing suspicions of laziness. And they did it from the locker room: they shook up the elevens to shake up the competition. Switzerland needed it to recover its prestige, Spain to agree with De la Fuente, who claims to have up to three starting teams.

Pedri, then, was not the only Spanish footballer who took the duel in Tenerife seriously. It was De la Fuente’s idea, which is why he gave Paredes, Samu and Barrios their debuts, while he started Casadó after playing 20 minutes against Denmark. And, as in a team that seems to have rest for years with the presence of Lamine Yamal (17 years old) and Nico Williams (22) on the wingers, in Tenerife Bryan Gil and Brian Zaragoza raised their hands.