2023-06-17 14:36:17
Guaranteed show? The previous three Croatia-Spain have never gone below five goals and the last one ended in a stunning 5-3.
In the 1/8 finals of Euro-2020, “Roja” won after extra time. The “Vatreni” (the “Ardents”) had however come back from 3-1 to 3-3 in the final five minutes of added time.
“People love games that end 8-7, but coaches don’t!” retorted the Spanish coach Luis de la Fuente. “We prefer more controlled, less crazy matches.”
From this meeting played in Copenhagen a little less than two years ago, only three holders remain on the Spanish side (Unai Simon, Alvaro Morata and Aymeric Laporte) and three substitutes.
“Bronze, Silver and Gold”
Croatia have retained five starters and eight substitutes, including their formidable midfield trio Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic. We can even count six pillars, only the Covid having prevented Ivan Perisic from playing this match.
“This group has played so many matches together”, warns de la Fuente, who sees “a team of a very high level, with players of great experience, who have just played two semi-finals of the World Cup (final in 2018, Editor’s note) and now in the final of the League of Nations”.
“We have shown once again that we are a bastion of football, we have quality and character,” relishes Zlatko Dalic.
“Now we have to remain calm and intelligent, not to throw ourselves towards this gold. It is my greatest wish: bronze (World-2022), silver (World-2018) and gold…”, dreams the Croatian coach.
It would also be the consecration for captain Luka Modric, who has not yet announced whether he will continue to play for the selection.
“Bringing Spain Back to the Top”
If Croatia dreams of a first title, Spain wants “to find the place which (him) corresponds”, explains de la Fuente. The memory is still fresh of the time when La Roja dominated the world, winning the 2008 and 2012 Euros and the 2010 World Cup in quick succession.
He would also finally launch the mandate of the new coach, buried under criticism after the defeat in Scotland (2-0) in qualifying for Euro-2024.
“Obviously it’s the titles that offer recognition,” he says, but he claims to have remained “quiet” in the storm. “I only care about what I can control, and I can’t control the critics.”
Beyond the case of La Fuente, “it would be very important after all this time to win”, completes Rodri, “to bring Spain back to the top, and also to create a culture of winning for future tournaments”.
“We have a unique chance, we know it for not having been able to win this final (of the League of Nations 2021) a year and a half ago against France (2-1 for the Blues)”, adds the Spanish star 26 years old.
Rodri is going through an extraordinary season, he will play his 66th match and achieved the cup/championship/Champions League treble with Manchester City, scoring the goal in the C1 final against Inter Milan (1-0).
“I’ve played a lot of matches, I try to take it as naturally as possible, I wasn’t sure what state I was going to be in at the end of the season, I’m better than I thought. physically,” he says.
His duel against Modric, “two of the best players in the world in their position” according to de la Fuente, will be worth its weight in gold, this gold after which both teams are chasing.
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