The damn heads and tails blessed the Spain of Luis de la Fuente, a coach who has been on the bench for five sessions and has already added a title, the first for the reds in eleven years.
That’s how playful fortune is, it was supposed to be so adverse to the Spaniards, always so blessed for the Croats, lovers of Russian roulette, so many disputes had been resolved in the extension.
The Nations League vindicated the Spain of De la Fuente, a team in permanent transformation (only Jordi Alba and Jesús Navas remain from the golden years of the two Euro Cups and the World Cup) whose present looks decorated, and punished the Croatians, tenacious during three quarters of the game, diminished in the final stretch, when they dogged, physically melted, determined to seize the title in the wheel of fortune.
Before, the damn Spain had displayed the main lines of its last years, perhaps a decadent inheritance from the golden years: namely, a certain tendency to touch and touch in the center of the field, but also a chronic ineffectiveness in the decisive meters.
Faced with these elements, Croatia was going to theirs.
As soon as the first Spanish defensive pressure was overcome, the Croats sowed the poison. Modric became vertical, and his shipments broke the backs of the French-style central defenders, Laporte and Le Normand, entangled by Pasalic, Brozovic and Kramaric and, eventually, by Perisic, very wise when it came to walking the left lane and appearing in the zone of auction.
Modric’s efficiency deserves a paragraph or two.
Modric, 166 internationals contemplate him, he has the break. It is not difficult for him to take two steps back to distinguish the best option. If you receive and think, your deliveries are gifts for Croatian blacksmiths. From his hand, Croatian football has become an ogre in Europe and in the world, what does it matter if the country barely has around four million inhabitants, or if Dinamo Zagreb or Hajduk Split play tiny roles in the Champions League or in the Europa League.
Modric’s Croatia has a World Cup silver (2018) and a bronze (2022), and for this reason the 25,000 Croatian throats that populated the Feyenoord stadium yesterday asked their captain to continue, come on, a little more, at least until the Eurocup next year.
Modric “who runs as if he were playing his first title, when in reality he has already won about 50” (Joselu dixit the day before) had an outstanding debt with his team, precisely the need to raise a cup.
Perhaps oblivious to the commitment, Modric tempered the game and frightened Luis de la Fuente, the always questioned Spanish coach, the same one who had said the day before:
-The less the matter lasts, the better.
De la Fuente was referring to the intimidating power of the Croats in extreme situations, when the game breaks the seams of 90 minutes and plunges into extra time or penalties.
(Until last night, the Croats had scored six of their last seven extensions.)
With Asensio, Morata and Yeremi Pino gone, with the game bogged down, Luis de la Fuente had decided to move the bench after the break. All of his squad went out to warm up, and with them Ansu Fati, Dani Olmo and Joselu.
While all these elements practiced their exercises on the band, Croatia accelerated. Perisic squeezed the lane that Jesús Navas gave him and Spain began to have a really bad time.
With the red handcuffed, De la Fuente shook the tree. Joselu and Ansu Fati came into play, the 66th minute ran, but the set remained frozen. Who broke was Petkovic, incorporated a moment before. Now it was Croatia who handled the ball and the tempos, very few balls reached Rodri, a new Busquets theorist whose presence was hardly noticed last night.
De la Fuente moved more things. He now replaced Fabián Ruiz, the novelty of the starting eleven, with Mikel Merino.
This change did come out expensive. The set was transfigured.
A delivery from Merino enabled Jordi Alba, whose center found Ansu Fati on the penalty spot. Only Perisic, as efficient in attack as in defence, neutralized Ansu Fati’s shot. In such a close final, five minutes from regulation time, the goal would have been decisive.
As if homework had been left for the last day, the Spanish arreón gave way to its best moments. Asensio finally appeared, unprecedented for the rest of the game, and so did Dani Olmo, a wolf breaking lines. Time was running out and the thing did not give for much more, so the outcome was postponed to the extension.
The extension undressed a molten Modric. Defenseless now, Croatia limped and Spain exalted, especially in the final stretch, when Ansu Fati was exhibited, power hammer on the left flank, much improved compared to the Barça striker.
Croatia asked for the time and time seemed to play on their part until Unai Simón, an exceptional witness for a good part of the match, stopped the shots from Majer and Petkovic.
Croacia: Livakovic; Juranovic, Sutalo, Erlic, Perisic; Brozovic, Modric, Kovacic; Pasalic (Petkovic, m.61), Ivanusec (Vlasic, m.78) y Kramaric (Majer, m.91).
Spain: Unai Simon; Jesus Navas (Carvajal, m.97), Le Normand (Nacho, m.78), Laporte, Jordi Alba; Rodri, Fabian (Mikel Merino, m.78), Gavi (Dani Elm, m.87); Marco Asensio, Yeremy Pino (Ansu Fati, 66) and Morata (Joselu, 66).
Penalties: 1-0, Vlasic. 1-1, Joselu. 2-1, Brozovich. 2-2, Rodri. 3-2, Modric. 3-3, Mikel Merino. 3-3, Majer fails. 3-4, Asensio. 4-4, Perisic. 4-4, Laporte misses. 4-4, Petkovic fails. 4-5, Carvajal.
Referee: Felix Zwayer (Germany). He booked Gavi (80), Nacho (96) and Rodri (97) for Spain; and Petkovic (91) for Croatia.
Incidents: final of the third edition of the League of Nations, played in the De Kuip stadium, full, with 51,000 spectators in its stands, 6,000 Spaniards.
