Spain made a winning start to Euro 2024 as they outclassed Group B rivals Croatia to claim a 3-0 victory at Berlin’s Olympiastadion.
Inspired by Barcelona phenomenon Lamine Yamal, making history as the youngest player ever to feature at a European Championship – aged 16 years and 338 days, Luis de la Fuente’s side scored all three of their goals in a one-sided first half.
The first two came in the space of three minutes as captain Alvaro Morata buried a one-on-one chance from Fabian Ruiz’s incisive through-ball, before the midfielder twisted and turned in the Croatia box and rifled home the second goal himself.
Yamal was involved in the build-up to Fabian’s goal and provided the assist for the third when his superb cross was poked in by Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal for his first international goal, only two weeks after he scored in the Champions League final.
Croatia, led by 38-year-old Luka Modric, playing in his ninth major tournament, surprisingly had a higher share of possession than Spain but their defensive sloppiness was ruthlessly punished and, at the other end, they failed to capitalise on their openings.
Marc Cucurella cleared a Josip Stanisic effort off the line in the second half and Croatia then saw a late goal ruled out for encroachment after substitute Bruno Petkovic had won a penalty off Rodri following an error by Unai Simon, then scored from the rebound after the Spain goalkeeper saved his spot-kick.
The result represents a near-perfect start to the tournament for Spain, the only concern being an apparent knock to Rodri which saw the Manchester City midfielder substituted late on.
Star performer: Lamine Yamal outstanding
At 16 years and 338 days old, Yamal smashed the youngest-player record previously set by Poland’s Kacper Kozlowski, who featured at the last European Championship aged 17 years and 246 days.
Lamine Yamal excelled against Croatia
If that was not enough of a feat in itself, the precocious Barcelona winger went on to play a crucial role in the victory, causing problems for Croatia right up until his 86th-minute substitution.
The highlight of his performance was the delicious, diagonal cross to set up the third goal but there were plenty of other eye-catching moments as he exploited the space behind Croatia left-back Josko Gvardiol to deadly effect, his speed, vision and one-on-one ability shining through in a thrilling display.
Analysis: A new Spanish identity?
This game ended a run of 136 competitive fixtures in which Spain have had more possession than their opponent, dating back 16 years to the final of Euro 2008.
And yet, despite only having a 47 per cent share of the ball against Croatia, the win could hardly have been more convincing, sealed during a clinical first-half showing.
Alvaro Morata is congratulated by team-mate Robin Le Normand after his goal
It is only 18 months since Spain exited the World Cup with a limp penalty shoot-out loss to Morocco during which they made 1,000 passes and yet only mustered one shot on target, a statistic which summed up their struggles in turning possession into chances.
Watching this side on Saturday, though, a side featuring the 16-year-old Lamine Yamal on one flank and the 21-year-old Nico Williams on the other, was a very different experience.
Nico Williams takes on Josip Sutalo
Instead of directionless passing, there was incision, typified by the Fabian Ruiz through-ball that carved Croatia open for the opening goal, and the many moments when Williams and, to an even greater extent Yamal, sprang forward following transitions.
Their speed and directness appears to have given Spain a different dimension from other recent tournaments. It may be at odds with their identity but it is one which makes them a more difficult opponent, and a better bet to go deep this time around.
What they said
Spain winger Lamine Yamal said: “I’m thrilled with the win, for my Euro debut and we are all already thinking about the next match.
“I’m there for the coach and for the team whether I play wide, inside, whether I’m attacking, creating or defending. Whatever is needed. We are an efficient, hard-working team and you’ve seen months of hard work come to fruition today.
“We are a family, we are very confident and the way Dani celebrated his goal with me shows that. Starting with a win like this, against a rival like this, is very important for the team. But we’re turning our minds to the next match already.”
Croatia players show their dejection after the game
Spain captain Alvaro Morata said: “I thought we played well. We put a terrific national team under big pressure. This is a template for how we have to approach all our matches right from the start.”
Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic: “My impression was that we withstood Spain’s initial pressure in the first 10-15 minutes. After that, we took control, we were better and started creating some chances. But then we conceded a goal due to our mistake and weren’t able to get back into the game after that. It wasn’t good.
On the early substitutions of Luka Modric and Mateo Kovacic, he explained: “We have two important matches ahead, against Albania and Italy. At that moment, we were losing 3-0 and didn’t have many chances to turn it around, so I decided to take them off.”