The agonizing draw that Brazil achieved at the horn at the Bernabéu should not be clouded by the good taste that De la Fuente's Spain left in their last match before offering the call for the 23 footballers who will attend the Euro Cup in Germany. With an eleven that could well be the one from the debut against Croatia, on June 15 at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, the red team tamed the five-time world champion and deserved much more.
The duel against Brazil had little or nothing to do with the one played against Colombia in London a few days before, in which with an experimental eleven Spain did not measure up and threatened to open the folder of doubts just over two months before the great European showcase of national team football opens.
The footballers return these days to the discipline of their clubs to face an intense final stretch of the course in which many will also work to earn a place on the final list of the Euro Cup, observed and analyzed with a magnifying glass by De la Fuente and his staff this week. last stage of the season.
If this last international break has left anything behind, it is that Spain has a fairly defined eleven and can adapt its formation depending on the rival, from the usual 4-3-3 to the 4-2-3-1 that took shape at the Bernabéu against Brazil. De la Fuente has many profiles of footballers who know how to adapt to different positions, which allows it to boast of a chameleonic team.
One of the best examples of this valuable versatility is none other than Dani Olmo. The Leipzig footballer is used to playing on the left with Spain but against Brazil he excelled in the midfield, becoming a nightmare for the Canarinha, goal included. If the injuries spare him, he is called to be one of the fundamental pieces of the red in the event in Germany.
Of the eleven that came to the Bernabéu at the start, surely the only piece that would dance today would be Cucurella on the left side. And not because the Barça youth player did not perform, because he was very fine and covered a lot of ground, but because Grimaldo's season at Leverkusen is being impressive and it seems that he has earned a starting position with the national team. Although nothing can be taken for granted since Gayá, absent this date due to injury, is one of the veterans and starts with a certain advantage. The fight to win the position promises to be exciting.
What was also certified in this Tuesday's duel was that there are two pillars on which De la Fuente must build his team. One is Rodri, a star footballer who acts as marshal over the green team with astonishing calmness and who is the axis around which the red team orbits. The other is Lamine Yamal, established at the Bernabéu as the greatest talent of the Spanish team and fired by the public, mostly Real Madrid fans, standing after a marvelous performance. Looking at his ID and verifying that he is 16 years old would deserve a new season of The Twilight Zone.
On the other side of the scale we must put many of those who came up to play against Colombia and who took a step back not only to earn a place in the eleven, but also to be on the final list for the Euro Cup. Although De la Fuente has been in favor of giving continuity to a block and trusts many of them, footballers like Sarabia, Vivian, Pedro Porro or Gerard Moreno must shine with their teams now to keep the traffic light green.
