Albania – Spain: La Roja’s Replacements Remain In Rhythm (0-1)
Spain sorted out their top task in the Group of Death before the beginning of this fixture. Even though a second string selection stepped onto the field for this formality, the players put on a professional performance. Their status strengthens even further in the stakes for silverware.
Tactical analysis and match report by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere.
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Albania’s adventure advances to the final round of the group stage matches. Klaus Gjasula gripped the narrative with a last gasp equalizer to eradicate an own goal at the other end of the pitch. Nonetheless, the prevalent picture is murky. A stalemate signaled no separation from the Croatians, while Italy’s 2-1 success over the minnows still ensured a two point gap from second place. Progress is possible, but it may end up calling for a feat that neither of the two big nations could pull off in the last nine days.
Spain set their sights on a record fourth EUROs title— the last of which was the climactic moment of their Golden Generation in 2012. Though the current crop is not so glamorous, these players have not diced with death in a group with its obstacles. The Croatian cut to their 16 year streak of successful possession battles did not bar off the three points, and a 1-0 defeat of the Italians spared no mercy except on the scoreline. Their displays draw respect as one of the best contenders for the trophy.
Luis de la Fuente was free to hand out minutes to members of the rest of the squad. Aymeric Laporte was the only man who held onto his spot after the intense Italian outing. His partner was Dani Vivian in the center of the defense. Jesús Navas and Álex Grimaldo grabbed the two fullback slots. Martín Zubimendi replaced Rodri, Mikel Merino filled in for Fábian, and Dani Olmo occupied the role of the number ten. Ferran Torres and Mikel Oyarzabal operated as the two wingers on either side of Joselu.
Sylvinho saw it fit to take just one player out of his lineup. Iván Balliu came in for Elseid Hysaj on the right of their rearguard. Berat Djimsiti directed the troops as the captain at the base of the spine. Ylber Ramadani and Kristjan Asllani were the two deepest members of the arrangement in the middle of the park. Qazim Laçi was the most offensive midfielder, so Nedim Bajrami stayed as a left winger instead of Taulant Seferi. Armando Broja also missed out in place of Rey Manaj as a central forward.
Opportunistic Olmo
No inferiority complex has clouded the Albanians. Having hit the back of the net first in their last two tests, they attacked the first five minutes of the match. Though the crowd cultivated support for these players, this pressure phase died down. Sylvinho’s men fell further back into their half of the pitch. Ramadani was the most protective figure in the midfield, and Laçi sometimes sat off and formed a 4-5-1 shape. Spanish circulation could constrain their opponents, punishing a blunder inside the block.
Vivian squared the ball to Laporte, enjoying an abundance of space and time to assess his options. He ripped a diagonal pass through the lines, shifting the focus to Olmo. The attacking midfielder received the ball behind the midfield, spinning to bring it forward with his right foot. At the same time, Torres set off on a deep diagonal run from his outside. He caught out Mario Mitaj, and as Djimsiti jumped forward to track Olmo, the winger was able to slip in behind, slotting a shot into the side of the net.
The opportunistic Olmo kept an open eye for gaps. Torres and Navas brought breadth to the offense on the right, and he could dart on the blindside of Djimsiti to act as a presence between the lines, from where his heeled contacts and agility allowed control of the ball under pressure. Like Pedri, he also aimed to pick up pockets in narrow spots, getting free from a deeper defense to exploit the six space.
21st minute: offensive sequence from Spain. Zubimendi, Merino and Laporte circulated the possession out of Albanian pressure to release Vivian. As he drove forward with the ball, Torres widened, pulling out Mitaj. Olmo was ready to offer an option ahead of the central defender, but he waits for Asllani to shift out slowly to his teammate. A tempo change breaks the lines, and Olmo has the technical caliber to access the inside space. Djimsiti drops and he asks for the ball again, but Joselu could not claim it.
Flying fullbacks
Rotation can be a double edged sword. On the one hand, freshness in the mind and legs fights fatigue. On the other hand, coordination can be complicated to strike up with next to no preparation. Here, the Spanish patterns were strikingly similar. Zubimendi sat in the seat at the base of the midfield. Along with Merino and Oyarzabal, the ball freely funneled behind Laci and to the outside of the field.
Nearly full squad rotation, eerily similar passmaps.
— Between The Posts (@BetweenThePosts) June 25, 2024
That's some coaching.#VamosEspaña | #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/15HF8oX7nJ
Indeed, the actions in the final third typified a different approach. Both fullbacks are offensive threats on the outside: Navas likes to fly forward on the wing, while Grimaldo can pick out precise deliveries to the far post or along the floor. In addition to this, the dynamic 1 on 1 quality of the wingers was missing. Unlike Nico Williams, Oyarzabal opted to roam inside and did not dare to dribble. He was not always on hand to help as a couple with the left back, but Spain doubled down on deliveries aptly.
Before Torres’ goal, Thomas Strakosha strained to save a header from Merino that Navas had assisted. Grimaldo’s guided balls to the far post picked out Torres himself on more than one occasion, and Merino managed to shank a strike over the bar from the left back’s flat cutback in the 44th minute. These efforts added to Albanian wounds, but the deficit would stay the same till the midway mark.
41st minute: offensive sequence from Spain. Zubimendi had punched a pass to Merino, and Oyarzabal takes the ball in a tight space, laying it off back out of a pressure zone. In this time, Zubimendi can come far over to the left wing, where Jasir Asani has even less access to the Spanish shirts. Grimaldo is the free man on the outside, and he prepares a delivery to the far post. Joselu occupies the near post, and Olmo is under the attention of Mitaj, so Torres is available at the far post for a header.
Spanish slowdown is ultimately inconsequential
At the start of the second half, Robin Le Normand took the place of Laporte in the middle of the back four. It seemed as if it would not mean much when Joselu connected with Grimaldo’s delivery as the latest attempt at the Albanian goal in the 47th minute. However, sloppiness started to encroach into their actions with the ball. An increasing tally of half baked sequences signaled more transitions.
52nd minute: offensive transition from Albania. Torres runs straight into Mitaj and Albania attempt to keep control of the possession. Laçi ran off the back of Zubimendi, forcing the defensive midfielder to adjust his angle of approach before getting out to Asllani. Merino and Torres had already tried to double up on Bajrami’s deep dribbling, and pressure continues to arrive late on the rest of the red shirts. Torres offers up the inside lane when Navas was on the cover down the line and a 3-on-2 is accessible inside the formation. Bajrami can then break forward with three teammates on his right.
De la Fuente fended off the fight with further substitutions. After Fermín López had come on for Oyarzabal, Lamine Yamal and Álvaro Morata entered the fray while Olmo operated as the left winger. In the end, he left the field and Álex Baena banked more minutes off the bench. These individuals contributed to a few more attempts, but in truth, Spain’s second gear was enough.
Takeaways
Out of all 24 nations, only Portugal can copy the perfect record of Spain in the group stage. La Roja wracked up three triumphs in this phase of the competition for just the second time in their history— 16 years after a second EUROs title. Furthermore, it is the first time this feat involved the concession of no goals. The reward of minutes for all 26 players across the squad (besides Álex Remiro) should further fortify the feeling of unity in the camp. Rightly so, de la Fuente finds himself in his element.
Amidst all of the drama, an acknowledgment of Albania is fair. The outsiders expectably ended up at the bottom of Group B. Sylvinho shall wonder what could have been: after the stalemate between Croatia and Italy, a draw would have still salvaged some hope of a place in the knockout stages for at least a few more days. Yet, to be in contention for a berth in the Round of 16 is a credit to the fighting spirit of his players. They now set their sights on a historic appearance at the 2026 World Cup.
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