The Santiago Bernabéu stood up and said goodbye to Lamine Yamal after a postcard-perfect display. Less than a month after debuting with the Barça jersey in the Madrid sanctuary, the pearl of La Masia left a preview dressed in red with some of her most complete performances in her nascent stage as a professional. He excited Spain despite Brazil’s draw, signed in ’95 and without Yamal on the field, as if he had not wanted to tarnish his marvelous performance.
The Blaugrana was the true reflection of a Spain completely different from the one seen against Colombia. And not only because De la Fuente introduced up to ten changes, making it clear which eleven he is currently using to face the Euro Cup, but because on the green the red was exciting, and in what way, with an ambition unusual in friendly matches, wanting to please his people from the first second.
The Barça pearl took five minutes to try her first shot and a little more than ten to force a penalty, one of those that requires a swimsuit, yes, and leaving the Bernabéu respectable, mostly white-leaning as was proven in the presentation of the teams, flabbergasted. Rodri did not waste the opportunity and broke the net in the center from eleven meters. But Yamal’s voracity remained intact. Every time he received, Wendell told himself that he had chosen a bad day to wear the canarinha. After a quarter of an hour he shot dangerously again and before half an hour a slalom was marked along the wing, avoiding rivals only suitable for selected ones. From then on, every time he received the ball, at 16 years old, a murmur of expectation arose from the stands from those who remain in the memory.
The exhibition by the teenager from Mataró was nothing more than the icing on the cake of a choral performance by Spain that minimized a five-time world champion, unable to overcome the center of the field for many minutes, with a dreamlike authority. Absent Vinícus, more protagonist in the preview than on the grass, only Rodrygo seemed to rebel in the middle of the bath.
The Bernabéu exploded with the second of his team. A play that came, guess what, from the boots of Lamine Yamal, who gave the ball to Dani Olmo so that he could take out his wand, make a shot and beat a desperate Bento. The dominance was overwhelming and the party was for those who anticipated a monumental hangover. But before the break, in one of the few arrivals of the Brazilians, Unai Simón gave a ball to Rodrygo, who with an easy chip brought joy to the numerous Rio fans who came to the Castellana to get cold.
With a score that did not even remotely reflect what happened on the field of play, making the first half of the canarinha inappropriate, Dorival Júnior had no choice but to shake up his team by introducing up to four substitutions. It didn’t take many seconds to prove that Brazil was going to be another, those that passed from the whistle until Unai Simón got the first scare. Among the new faces, Endrick stood out, welcomed by the Bernabéu as one of their own. The young talent (17) hunted by Madrid, who already scored at Wembley against England, repeated last night, signing the tie with a great foreshortening and left-footed shot typical of a star in the making.
With Spain on the canvas, Rodrygo hit the post. It took De la Fuente’s team a while to get up, but in a demonstration of fortitude, the Nations League champion regained the monopoly of the game and began to surround Bento. Lamine Yamal commanded the operations and the shots began to take place. Olmo, Fabián, Lamine, Williams… Until with the end looming, Bento knocked down Carvajal and Rodri repeated from the penalty spot. The third victory against Brazil in all of history seemed certified, and more than deserved, but the red card escaped in the last breath. Carvajal, who had been imperially drying Vinícus, gave away a penalty in the final play and Paquetá gladly accepted it.
The marker leaves a bitter taste but when everything cools down the conclusions will be the most positive. Spain did not win, but it did convince this time.
3 – Spain: Unai Simón; Carvajal, Laporte, Le Normand (Cubarsí, m.81), Cucurella; Rodri, Fabián; Lamine Yamal (Navas, m.92), Dani Olmo, Nico Williams (Sancet, m.89); and Morata (Oyarzabal, m.81).
3 – Brazil: Bento; Danilo (Yan Couto, m.46), Fabricio Bruno, Beraldo, Wendell; Bruno Guimaraes (André, m.46), Joao Gomes (Pereira, m.46), Lucas Paqueta; Raphinha (Endrick, m.46), Rodrygo (Galeno, m.82) and Vinícius (Douglas Luiz, m.71).
Goles: 1-0, m.12: Penalty rodri. 2-0, m.36: Dani Olmo. 2-1, m.40: Rodrygo. 2-1, m.50: Endrick. 3-2, m.87: Penalty rodri. 3-3, m.96: Penalty Paquetá.
Referee: Antonio Nobre (POR). He warned Le Normand (34), Laporte (42) and Carvajal (52) for Spain; and Guimaraes (42), Paqueta (58), Endrick (79), Pereira (85) and Beraldo (93) for Brazil.
Incidents: friendly match against racism, held under the motto ‘One Skin’, at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium before 68,000 spectators.
