Evil tongues will say, no doubt rightly, that Spain only faced “ » Northern Ireland and Andorra and that it is appropriate to take stock of these two slaps stuck a few days before the big kick-off of the Euro (5-1 this Saturday against the first mentioned, and 5 -0 against Andorran neighbors this Wednesday). The most optimistic, they will not be wrong, will see it as the awakening of a sleeping beauty with the return of certain boys to their best level and increasingly up-to-date automatisms. There is certainly a happy medium to be found there, but Luis de la Fuente’s gang in any case has the merit of having gained confidence (where Germany, England or even Portugal do not were not imperial). It’s always that of recovering from the main favorites, and not placing the Roja among this lot of Grail contenders could be a big mistake.
The young people are in good shape…
Among the good news from this short preparation, we must first place Pedri’s return to his best level. The talented Barça midfielder has not been spared from injuries in recent months, to the point of not having worn the tunic of the selection since the 2022 World Cup ended with a sad elimination against Morocco in the round of 16. Luis de la Fuente did not hesitate to recall him, and even to place him as the starter for these two friendly matches. The confidence was returned immediately and in a beautiful way, with a double against Northern Ireland. “He knows that I have confidence in him, and I know that he will give us very good things in this competitionsaid De la Fuente at a press conference. I said that “Pedri must meet Pedri” figuratively, that is, he must gain confidence. The best version of Pedri, we don’t know where yet how it is because he is so…”
Enough to imagine him applying for an indisputable tenure role, within the Roja ? Why not, and perhaps in the same way as his club teammate Lamine Yamal who never ceases to shine. When Manita of the weekend, the prodigy who will celebrate his seventeenth birthday in a little over a month was once again decisive with two candies delivered for Fabián Ruiz and Mikel Oyarzabal. In short, the people of Barcelona are doing well. And this must undoubtedly give regret to Pau Cubarsí, strangely left aside at the last minute, just like Marcos Llorente and Aleix García. According to the Spanish media, it was in reality a pact between Barça and the Spanish federation to send Cubarsí to the Olympic Games and in order to avoid a “Pedri case” with summer overwork which could lead to injuries by the following.
…and the attack takes shape
If Yamal and Morata seem to be starting a step ahead of the rest of the offensive players to start as starters, there is a jostling at the gate to take on the costume of the third thief. Among the possibilities, De la Fuente can draw from numerous choices: Joselu, Dani Olmo, Nico Williams, Ferran Torres, Ayoze Pérez or even Oyarzabal. The first mentioned above all looks like the perfect understudy for Morata and Olmo is somewhat short of form (injured at the end of the season with Leipzig), but the last four names have all performed in the best way. Against Andorra, Torres and Pérez were both scorers and assists while Williams was the assist against Northern Ireland. For his part, Oyarzabal did even better: four goals in the two matches, including one hat trick in twenty minutes during the first (yet entering each time at the start of the second half). Enough to start against Croatia, when the serious things begin? Not sure, but the Real Sociedad striker at least has the advantage of being able to play in different positions. “I’m ready to do what the coach asks of me every game. Against Brazil (3-3 last March, Editor’s note), I had played on the wing. This time I played as a center forward, said Oyarzabal after his hat-trick against Andorra, in front of the media. I have good feelings in training, and it shows in matches. The team is good, and we’re excited to do something good. » It remains for chef De la Fuente to make the right decisions behind the stove, while the first challenge against Croatia should already show what this Spain has in its stomach.
Spain and its nuggets have fun against Northern Ireland
