Zubimendi rounds off the Spanish festival in Murcia

It wasn’t just another game. Spain, the European champion, was playing at home for the first time since its fourth conquest of the Old Continent. Four months after touching the sky in Berlin, La Roja debuted its new condition before its people and it also did so on October 12, the day of the National Holiday.

Murcia, decorated by a national team match seven years later, received this team that has changed the fortunes of Spanish football with a commemorative tifo in the stands and the deafening and unanimous cry of “champions.”

There was only one victory left to round out the festive day. It was not an easy undertaking, with six starters in the Euro Cup final out of action due to injuries and an important rival like Denmark, but Spain’s tenacity to mature a thick match at times was rewarded. And we had to wait, because Zubimendi’s goal that sealed the victory came in the final stretch. The player from San Sebastian, symbol of Spain’s ‘B unit’ and new beacon of La Roja due to Rodri’s serious injury, volleyed Luis de la Fuente’s team to the top of their group in the Nations League and seriously brought them closer to the knockout phase of the tournament.

The queen of Europe was planted in La Nueva Condomina with command in the plaza. Long possession to wear down the Danish network, although the first chance was Nordic, with a ball into space for the speed of Dolberg and a low shot from the former Sevilla player that Raya disrupted, capable of successfully sustaining the absence of Unai Simón.

Zubimendi, embedded between the centre-backs at the start of the play, tried to give the ball a clean release, escorted by Fabián Ruiz and Pedri on the inside profiles. Meanwhile, Denmark, with five back in the defensive phase, remained withdrawn waiting for some counter with which to threaten La Roja’s superiority.

They had to be patient until they found the gap, which revealed a very slanted free-kick that Lamine Yamal sent over Schmeichel’s crossbar. The flashes of the very young Barça prodigy enlivened the start of the match at the Enrique Roca, the renamed stadium that, dressed to the nines, showed that Murcia misses top-level football, from which its Paprika team has been away for too long.

A little more success was missing from a somewhat thick Spain, focused on the right wing with the incursions of the all-rounder Pedro Porro. In those Zubimendi used a karate maneuver to execute an acrobatic finish. It was the bugle call, as the team redoubled its bet. Morata missed the mark with his left foot, and his attempt was lost licking the Danish post. Next, Lamine Yamal shot in a classic way, diagonally inwards and shot with his left foot that Schmeichel took.

However, the Spanish push gave way to a somewhat unremarkable stretch of the game. The atmosphere cooled down and Denmark took advantage of it to stretch through Eriksen, whose venom-laden pass to the heart of the area was solved by Raya, feline and brave in the stretch.

The truth is that half-time was approaching with better feelings for the Danish team, capable of surrounding the Spanish area and warning with a shot from Hojbjerg deflected by the local defense. Despite this, the one-on-one match against Schmeichel by Lamine Yamal, very skilled at gaining space with his body, was able to erase any doubt with a stroke of the pen. The Barça winger was imprecise in the definition and extended the tie until the second act.

One more march

Spain went one step further after the break and as a result of that initiative, Fabián’s shot hit the side of the net. Morata’s opportunity was clearer, as he ran into Schmeichel’s exit after a great filtered pass from Fabián. Merino entered, to give more vigor to the Spanish midfield, and Álex Baena, with the mission of finding from the hitch the spaces that La Roja had not been able to glimpse until now.

As it was, Spain went for the game with determination. Another step that corroborated a long shot by Pedro Porro and the umpteenth attempt by Lamine Yamal, not as lucid as usual but always dangerous and vertical. La Roja, remodeled in its forward line with the presence of a pure finisher like Joselu, deserved the goal award. For once, football was fair and the whims of fate chose Zubimendi, the luxury substitute who abandoned his usual space in the shadows. Great volley from the San Sebastian native, who scored a rejected ball from the edge of the area.

The champagne had finally been uncorked. Sergio Gómez made his debut and the best team in Europe, closer to second than needing to protect its advantage, rounded off the Spanish party in Murcia.