Football news- Greater than the sum of their parts – Inside Europe on Spain’s triumph over Italy
Updated 09/10/2021 at 08:40 GMT
After Spain brought European champions Italy’s unbeaten run at home to an end Pete Sharland gets in contact with Felix Martin from Eurosport Spain to get all the latest on Luis Enrique’s men. Martin explains why Spain are about the team rather than individuals but can’t resist talking a little about new wonderkid Gavi.
Inside Europe Gavi
Image credit: Eurosport
Say what you like about the UEFA Nations League (and many do) but the general idea seems to be working pretty well.
The concept was always about creating more interest during international breaks, a period of the calendar where most football fans completely switch off.
But the two semi-finals have been absolute crackers, perhaps helped by players not being as nervous as if they were semi-finals of the European Championships or World Cup.
The first of those semis saw Spain end Italy’s long unbeaten run at home and knock the European champions out of the competition. In order to get an idea of the reaction in Spain to the win, as well as looking forward to the final, we got in touch with Felix Martin from Eurosport Spain. This is what he had to say.
What were your main takeaways?
It’s hard to say what was expected of Spain before the game. They had their own issues but Italy were also missing a lot of key players, it felt as if they were there for the taking.
But Italy manager Roberto Mancini prides himself on his system not being reliant on any one player so to beat them is still a noteworthy feat.
“It was an impressive game from Spain,” Martin begins.
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Spain's Ferran Torres celebrates after scoring his team's second goal during the UEFA Nations League semi-final match between Italy and Spain
Image credit: Getty Images
“Italy came in with a streak of 37 games without losing playing at home... until Spain arrived there.
“Collectively, La Roja was very good with the ball, true to their style, trying to dominate the match by controlling the possession of the ball.
“Even though we don't have impressive names, our national team had a fantastic collective participation.”
A word on Gavi
The name on everyone’s lips coming into the match against Italy was of course Gavi, the 17-year-old who was the shock call-up by Luis Enrique.
As it turns out Enrique might have been ahead of the curve, as Gavi produced a masterful performance once he settled into the game.
“There were many doubts about his inclusion in the squad because he is only 17 and has only played four matches for Barcelona,” Martin agreed.
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Gavi of Spain during the UEFA Nations league match between Italy v Spain at the San Siro on October 6, 2021 in Milan
Image credit: Getty Images
“It was a surprise seeing him as a starter against Italy, I guess that playing alongside Busquets, as he does with Barcelona, was a big help for him.
“Plus it must have helped knowing that Busquets would take charge of the midfield in terms of organisation and communicating with the rest of the team. Not having that responsibility must have been freeing for him.
“But he definitely had a lot of pressure on his shoulders, so yes, the kid played a great match and we can expect to see him starting on Sunday again.”
Did anyone else stand out for you?
Of course it wasn’t just Gavi, so we asked Martin who else impressed him.
“Ferrán Torres, of course, he scored two goals and had an outstanding performance playing as a striker.
“He played as a right winger here in Valencia but Guardiola has turned him into a false 9 because of the lack of strikers Manchester City have at their disposal and this experiment has been an absolute success judging by what we saw the other day.”
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MILAN, ITALY - OCTOBER 06: (BILD OUT) Ferran Torres of Spain celebrates after scoring his team's second goal during the UEFA Nations League Semi-Final match between the Italy and Spain at San Siro Stadium on October 6, 2021 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Matt
Image credit: Getty Images
Where are the key battles for the final
Looking ahead instead to Sunday we asked Martin who he thought would be key for each team, and where the game will be won and lost.
“Spain is lacking big names in their squad and France is full of talent and big names in every position, that's the first difference between these two teams," he said.
“But even though we don't have big stars, we are great as a team.
“As I explained before, Luis Enrique is remaining faithful to his style and will try to hurt France by controlling the possession of the ball.
“And again, even though France is full of stars, they lack collective spirit, but we all know that if one of those stars - Pogba, Mbappé, Griezmann or Benzema - is inspired, they can change a match."
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