[Review] Once again, tight front and loose back, Spain pays tuition for young people

Portugal 2-2 Spain (5-3 penalty kick)

Sports Weekly reporter Wu Yifan

Who said that the European League is not a serious championship? Look how happy the Portuguese are! Spain and Portugal fought for 120 minutes, and finally lost a slight mistake in the penalty shootout and gave up the championship position. This ends Spain's championship cycle from the UEFA Nations League to the European Cup, where it starts and ends. This team is still growing, but there are a lot to summarize and reflect on.

Like the semi-finals against France, Spain is in a tight front and loose back in this final. The difference is that the super high offensive efficiency in the last game brought a huge lead, and this time the defensive negligence was exposed in advance. Delafuente only made some minor adjustments to the starting lineup, playing Ruiz and Mingeza. It can be seen that many players who have played in high-intensity events for a whole year are showing signs of fatigue. Portugal on the other side also made adjustments to the midfield and frontcourt, and Champions League champion Vitinia appeared.

Oyasawar served as the starting center for the second consecutive game. Although the Spanish captain was Unai Simon, the responsibility for communicating with the referee was left to Oyasaval, which shows how much Drafuent valued him. After giving two exciting assists in the last game, Oyasawar continued to perform in highlights. His agile running position and light ball removal allow his teammates to take the ball in the most comfortable position, and it is difficult to catch him even if the Portuguese defense responds quickly. With a combination of punches, Suvimendi scored. Afterwards, Oyasawar also used his "half-step" qualities to successfully counterattack and scored.

Spain led, then controlled, and then suppressed again, which seemed to be a reappearance of the situation against France. But Portugal did not perform according to the old script. First of all, they did not give Spain a chance to continue attacking, and the defenses on both sides were very tight. Despite sending a wonderful cross, Yamal was stuck by Nuno Mendez almost the whole game. Although Nico Williams on the other side had the upper hand in singles Joao Neves, his next step was always predicted, and he tried to cooperate and intersperse in the small space.

In contrast, Portugal obviously did its homework carefully. There is a big gap between Spain's single midfielder and two tall central defenders. The Portuguese broke in straight lines from here several times without encountering frontal obstacles. Nuno Mendes accidentally stepped forward and scored. Other teammates then obtained several threatening set-pieces at the same position, creating a goal opportunity for Ronaldo. After being selected, Wyson, who was entrusted with important tasks and started continuously, performed well overall, but he had to bear certain responsibility for this goal conceding. He did not respond in time in the face of the bounced ball, nor did he move his foot to grab the point, watching Ronaldo suppress Cucurella and score the ball. There are many young players in Spain's front and back courts, and sooner or later they have to pay some tuition for lack of experience and ruthlessness.

It is better to hand in early than to hand in the evening. This is nominally a final. Spain, which has won a more important championship, is in a relaxed state. It feels boring to face the aggressive Portugal in the second half. Once Spain loses its offensive suppression, it will have to pull the opponent in the midfield, and Portugal, which has one of the best midfielders in the world today, is not afraid of pulling. Yamal seemed very calm at first, but then found it difficult to perform the diagonal wheel that he liked, and began to shoot long-distance without any brains. After Pedri was replaced by Isco first, Spain's frontcourt squad work went further and played even more disorganized.

Isco has been in Betis for the last two years, but unfortunately I missed last year's European Cup due to injury. This is his second time to play for the country after 6 years, and he almost scored with a strong shot. However, the Spanish team is very different now than before, from coaches, teammates to ideas. He must adapt again and compete with children 10 years younger than him. Yet, it is almost certain that someone is going to quit the competition. Morata's career has been falling from Atletico Madrid to Milan to Türkiye over the past year. Although the national team still reserves a place for him, it is impossible to be the main force.

Morata, who picked up the Delaune Cup a year ago, made a appearance in the last 10 minutes of overtime. At that time, Spain had lost its advantage in the field. It was not so much that it was the last attempt to let an experienced veteran play a penalty kick in the future. Unexpectedly, the only one who lost the game in the end was him. Teammates came up to comfort Morata, which may be his last final in the national team. At the competitive level, Morata can provide less and less, but it is not easy to find a captain who is responsible like him. After this battle, Drafuente not only needs to continue to research personnel selection and tactics, but also find new antidotes at the spiritual level.