Tournaments are usually won by the stayers, not those who lead from the front. Spain are the unquestionable standout team so far at this European Championship with three wins and zero goals conceded but group-stage bright sparks often flame out in the knockouts. Facing Albania with top spot in their group already secured, we may have seen the second-best team at Euro 2024: Spain reserves.
Luis De La Fuente made 10 changes from the team which beat Italy in their last match, with Al-Nassr centre-back Aymeric Laporte the only player not given a rest. Jesús Navas, another with Manchester City in his past, became Spain’s oldest player at an international tournament at 38. Albania needed a win and have looked like spirited contenders in their best moments in Germany. Nevertheless they were dispatched with minimal fuss by a side with seemingly nothing to play for.
That is a tribute to the coaching of De La Fuente, whose system is polished enough to sustain a near-total change in personnel without much drop in performance. This tournament has marked a break from the waning power of last decade’s tiki-taka dominance. Instead Spain have utilised width and directness from Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal. Both were benched and while Spain played a little more keep-ball they still found joy through attacking with speed.
