Spain beat Albania 1-0 with a minimalist performance. While the Iberians finished the group stage with maximum points, the tournament is over for the Albanians.
24.06.2024, 22:57
24.06.2024, 22:58
SDA
As the Spaniards had already been confirmed as group winners before the match, coach Luis de la Fuente fielded ten new players compared to the 1-0 win over Italy. Only Aymeric Laporte remained in the starting line-up, although the defender was replaced by Robin Le Normand after the break.
Nevertheless, the Iberians were dominant, which was not surprising given the high quality of the second team. For example, Joselu from Real Madrid and Ferran Torres from FC Barcelona were among the newcomers. The latter scored the ultimately decisive 1:0 in the 13th minute after a perfectly timed pass into the deep by Dani Olmo.
It was not obvious for a long time that it was all to play for for the Albanians. Of course, it is difficult to have the ball a lot against the technically skilled Spaniards. However, it is all the more important to look for the duels and play courageously. This was nowhere to be seen in the first half, with the Albanians only creating one chance in the first 45 minutes when Kristjan Asllani tested Spanish keeper David Raya with a powerful shot.
In the 64th minute, substitute Armando Broja then failed to beat Raya with a shot in the penalty area. After that, the Albanians, spurred on by their many fans, showed a little more courage. Broja had another good chance in the 92nd minute, but overall the Spaniards controlled the game without any major problems.
The Iberians will face a third-placed team in the round of 16 on Sunday.
