The Spanish soccer team beat Denmark (1-0) this Saturday on the third day of the Nations League to become leader of Group 4, thanks to a goal from Martin Zubimendi in the second half of a demanding match at the Enrique Roca from Murcia.
Luis de la Fuente’s team won the Euro Cup trophy last summer in their first home game after winning and won a direct duel for the top of the group. Spain took a step forward in the second half and, without having a particularly brilliant day, celebrated the National Day by beating the Danes in the table.
With that first place at stake, the game responded with a very even first half. Spain, now with seven points compared to its rival’s six, met a Denmark with clear ideas and without fear of proposing with the ball. The ‘Roja’ lacked speed in their game and had a hard time finding scoring opportunities, although the two clearest ones were local ones, from Álvaro Morata and Lamine Yamal.
The captain started very motivated, giving way to his teammates, but the Danish defense of five left little room for the imagination of a Spain with little spark. The Enrique Roca Stadium also needed her to accompany their team but, with the traffic jam inside, De la Fuente’s team did not use the wings well.
The changes in the eleven were noticeable, the new pieces in the face of losses, like the band that Yamal and Porro shared. Meanwhile, the Danes, also with significant absences, threatened with the counterattacking departure of Eriksen and Dolberg. Furthermore, the visiting team calmed the Spanish moment with possession in the 20th minute, when Morata touched the post and then Lamine Yamal shot from distance.
The Spanish goalkeeper David Raya had a couple of worthwhile interventions and an uncomfortable European champion seemed to ask for a break to look for solutions, although just in the 45th minute the connection between Porro and Yamal came, which the FC Barcelona player forgave.
SPAIN GOES AHEAD MORE
De la Fuente undoubtedly asked for something more for the second half and, above all, to press up high to recover the ball, one of the hallmarks of his team. That was the case from minute one, also arriving with more players in the attacking actions, although Morata seemed like a magnet. The Milan striker ran into Schmeichel and the changes brought the goal a little closer.
Spain set back its rival even more with the entry of Álex Baena and Yamal left a new warning. The push and an increasingly closed-in Denmark served the ball in the front that Zubimendi sent to the net between a rebound and Schmeichel’s lack of reaction under the sticks. With 10 minutes left, Yamal unnerved the defenders and Spain tied the three points.
A National Holiday on October 12 in Murcia that ended with a certain disagreement because the Danes refused to give up the head of the group. On Tuesday, Spain will face Serbia, third with four points, with the option of sealing its ticket to the quarterfinals of a Nations League of which it is also the current champion.
TECHNICAL SHEET:
–RESULT: SPAIN, 1 – DENMARK, 0. (0-0, at half-time).
–ALIGNMENTS:
SPAIN: Raya; Pedro Porro, Vivian, Laporte, Grimaldo; Zubimendi, Fabián, Pedri (Merino, min.62); Lamine Yamal (Sergio Gómez, min.93), Oyarzabal (Baena, min.62) and Morata (Joselu, min.78).
DENMARK: Schmeichel; Kristensen, Vestergaard, Nelson; Bah, Hojbjerg, Hjulmand, Kristiansen; Gronbaek (Hojlund, min.78), Eriksen (Isaksen, min.73) and Dolberg (Poulsen, min.73).
–GOL:
1 – 0, min.79, Zubimendi.
–REFEREE: Ivan Kruzliak (SVK). Raya was cautioned (min.94) by Spain. And to Hjulmand (min.23), Kristensen (min.85), Bah (min.88) and Nelson (min.93) in Denmark.
–STADIUM: Enrique Roca Stadium in Murcia.
