Unai Simon demonstratively raised his right fist in the air after the final whistle. The Spanish goalkeeper radiated confidence in victory on his way to the fans in the red curve of the Cologne stadium. Shortly before, he and his teammates had defeated Georgia 4:1 (1:1). The Georgian fairytale at this European Championship could have ended even more brutally.
After their fourth victory in the fourth European Championship match, the Spaniards immediately set their sights on the quarter-final against Germany (Friday, 6 p.m., in the live ticker on WELT). “We are not happy that we are playing against them now. The Germans are playing at home, but we also have our weapons,” Rodri, who scored the 1-1 goal, tried to put aside the role of favorites and highlight their own strengths.
In fact, Spain has many dangerous options, especially in attack, which could cause problems for the German defense. Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal played Georgia dizzy time and time again on the flanks. The Spanish superiority was reflected in the statistics. 35:4 shots on goal, 75 percent possession and a pass rate of 94 percent. Pure dominance.
Spanish wingers: Nico Williams (l.) celebrates after his goal to make it 3-1 with Lamine Yamal
Source: dpa/Rolf Vennenbernd
After the fourth Spanish goal by Dani Olmo (M), Nico Williams (r.) celebrated again, this time with Mikel Merino
Source: dpa/Rolf Vennenbernd
“Everything worked well, we are very happy that we are in the quarter-finals. It will definitely be a difficult game. But we have to concentrate on ourselves, we have a wonderful team,” said young star Williams after the victory.
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This “wonderful team” is still considered the favorite for the title after the round of 16, as they have played a class better than all the other teams so far. But the courageous Georgians, driven by their passionate fans, exposed at least a few weak points in the Spaniards.
Vulnerable when things happen quickly
“The Spanish are also vulnerable,” said Michael Ballack, expert at Magenta TV, after the game, addressing a peculiarity in the Spanish game. “If they lose the ball when moving forward, they are disorganized at the back.” In fact, the Spanish appeared surprisingly vulnerable in some situations, especially when Georgia counterattacked.
Before the 0-1, the Georgians had literally overrun Spain in the person of Georges Mikautadze. His cross forced defender Robin Le Normand to score an own goal. Especially in the first half, the underdog used the speed of its attackers to appear dangerously in front of the Spanish goal several times.
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Shortly after the break, things even got strange. After winning the ball in front of their own penalty area, Georgia quickly switched again before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia took a shot from the halfway line. The ball just missed the surprised Simon and the left post of the Spanish goal. Spain’s pacemaker Rodri put his hand to his forehead in shock. Later, the Spanish defense was helped by the fact that the Georgian players seemed to be running out of energy for their surprise attacks.
Spain briefly shows nerves
The Spanish have so far presented themselves as a perfectly tuned engine at this European Championship. The running routes are right, and the players usually only need one touch of the ball to find their better positioned colleague. But after Georgia’s surprise lead, the favorites were visibly irritated, at least for a few minutes. Above all because the goal against them had abruptly interrupted the Spanish team’s strong opening phase.
Spain showed nerves at times, getting lost in small distractions. A patch of slippery grass here, a grumble about a bad pass there. Or, as with winger Williams, a reproachful wave of the hand after he failed to get a ball on a counterattack. The result was a few uninspired shots from distance that didn’t fit in with Spain’s fluid combination play at all.
Unexpected lead: Georgia’s Chwisha Kwaratschelia (r.) celebrates after Spain’s Robin Le Normand’s own goal to make it 0-1
Source: dpa/David Inderlied
“We made that mistake, an own goal, but we recovered well,” said Williams, summing up the brief period of weakness. Rodri, meanwhile, had ensured order on the pitch. The tall Manchester City midfielder calmed his teammates down with both hands after the 0-1: Breathe deeply, stay calm. The fact that he had the ball at his feet in the center circle did not bother him. Luis de la Fuente, Spain’s coach, did the same on the sidelines. With success.
The exploitation of opportunities
After the 2:1 (51st minute), Spain had the game firmly under control and created chance after chance. However, young star Yamal was too careless. For a while, the favorites therefore missed the chance to decide the game. When the Georgians’ strength and belief visibly waned, Spain easily increased the score to 4:1.
With a little more efficiency, twice as many goals would have been possible that evening, de la Fuente also felt. “The game should have ended 8-1 or 9-1. The goal we conceded made us hesitate a little, but we quickly regained control,” the Spanish coach said, analyzing his team’s performance.
Spain’s coach Luis de la Fuente (M.) talks with pacemaker Rodri
Source: dpa/Marius Becker
The confidence is high ahead of the duel with Germany. “We have the best team and the best players. We will fight and we know what we have in front of us, namely Germany,” said de la Fuente, adding: “We have quality, commitment and self-confidence. The next opponent is a powerhouse with great players. It is the well-known German machine.” He expects a close game, “but we are very confident about ourselves.”
