La Roja additionally gained within the ninth head-to-head assembly, and within the spherical of 16 on June 30 in Cologne, one of many third-placed groups awaits them.
“We have now a sure path forward of us, we’re enjoying phenomenally. We’re a really close-knit household. Every of us is able to play within the fundamentals. It does not matter who we play in opposition to within the spherical of 16, we now have an incredible workforce,” loved Torres.
The dominance of the Spaniards was changed by the courageous defiance of the Albanians
Earlier than kick-off, the Spaniards have been already sure of triumph in Group B after the scalps of the Croatians and the defenders of the gold, the Italians. Due to this fact, coach Luis de la Fuente modified kind of the whole beginning line-up. Spartan midfielder Laci as soon as once more began within the beginning eleven of the Albanians.
The primary half was dominated by the Spaniards. A very powerful factor occurred within the thirteenth minute, after they took the lead. Olmo discovered Torres behind the protection of the Balkan workforce and he made no mistake with a shot on the far put up – 0:1. “I used to be speaking to Dani about placing me balls in these areas. When he did, I did not hesitate,” described Torres.
On the finish of the opening act, the Barcelona striker headed over from the middle and simply earlier than going to the cabins, the Albanians, who dominated the qualifying group forward of the Czechs and Poles, have been in a position to equalize. Asllani fired from distance, however the Ray goalkeeper reached out to stop the equaliser.
On the finish of the second half, he may have elevated the lead of the favorites Joselu, however he completed simply above. Within the sixty fourth minute, Raya deflected a shot by substitute Broji. Within the set-up, the Fulham striker may have equalized, however his shot within the field was caught by Ray’s tiger leap. Regardless of the ultimate stress, the Albanians have been unable to equalize. Due to this fact, the Spaniards nonetheless didn’t accumulate within the match.
“Albania gave the Croatians and the Italians a tough time. We knew it will be a troublesome opponent. They made us run. However we additionally know how one can face stress. When that scenario arose, we resisted,” midfielder Mikel Merino said.
