Spain clearly beat the Croatians in the group of death. Yamal became the youngest player in Euro history

Saturday’s match between Spain and Croatia at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium kicked off the group stage of this year’s Euros. Already in the first half, the Spaniards decided their clear victory 3:0, with goals from Morata, Ruiz and Carvajal.

Morata sent the opening, but not very emphatic, shot on target in the seventh minute. The ball was passed by Lamine Yamal, who, at just under 17 years of age, became the youngest player in history to play in a European Football Championship match.

In the 22nd minute, Budimir headed in from the other side but missed the target. Seven minutes later, the score changed when Álvaro Morata converted his next chance in front of the goalkeeper. Ruiz made an important assist with a successful through pass.

Kovačić could have equalised in the 31st minute, but he did not beat his opponent’s goalkeeper. The Spaniards punished the missed opportunity as Fabián Ruiz, who had assisted in the previous instance, came through. After two tackles, he sent the ball down the ground beyond the reach of Dominik Livakovic.

The Croatians also missed an interesting opportunity after this goal. Unai Simón first intervened against Brozovic’s finish, Majer then finished into the side netting. Then in the 41st minute, Gvardiola’s shot was misdirected by Budimir at the back post, as he did not hit the ball at all.

Spain scored one more goal in injury time. Dani Carvajal increased the score to 3:0 after running into the box from Yamal’s successful centre from the right. Despite the adverse developments in the match, there were no substitutions in the Croatian ranks at the break.

In the 52nd minute, Yamal was not far away from becoming the youngest ever scorer at the Euro. However, Livakovic caught his shot to the left post. Croatia soon afterwards created a snarl in the opposition’s penalty area, but Stanišić’s strike into the Spanish net was stopped at the last moment by Cucurella.

Among all the changes in the starting line-ups during the second half, it is worth mentioning the withdrawal of Iberian captain Morata, who seems to have been injured. So we will see in the next few days how serious his health problems are. Mikel Oyarzabal replaced him on the pitch in the 67th minute.

La Roja guarded their three-goal lead relatively calmly for a long time and stood their ground even at the critical moments with about ten minutes to go. Simón hesitated in his cross and Rodri fouled Petkovic in the penalty area.

He did not convert the penalty, but after a successful intervention by the goalkeeper, he did get the ball over the goal line and between the three posts. However, the referee, with the help of VAR, did not award the penalty because some of the remaining Croats, including Perisic, ran into the hexagon prematurely.

The rest of the match was more of a game of finishers, so the Spaniards entered the European Championship with a clear victory. The Italians and Albanians will face off in the evening’s clash in a well-attended Group B group.

Source: UEFA