GROUP E
Spain 3 - 0 Sweden
Morata 47'
Morata 51'
Ramos 88'
Michael Grew
San Mamés Barria, Bilbao, Spain
Monday 15th June
Monday saw the Euro 2020 Football Bonanza Franchise Tour™ descend upon the city of Bilbao, which will play host to all of the Spanish national side’s group stage matches. And while some have questioned the fairness of selected teams playing two or all of their opening three games on home soil, the actions of Spanish captain Sergio Ramos have ensured that San Mamés Barria is unlikely to offer much in the way of home advantage here in Bilbao.
These two teams are, of course, no strangers, having faced each other twice last year in the qualifying stages. In the first game, almost exactly one year ago in the Estadio Santiago Bernebéu, Spain were comfortable victors, with goals from Ramos, Morata and Oyarzabal leading to a 3-0 victory without breaking so much as a sweat on a warm Madrid evening. However, the more optimistic Swedish fans before today’s game chose to focus on the return leg, where their team had led Spain for most of the second half before Rodrigo rescued a point for La Furia Roja in added time. That night, it was largely thanks to some excellent saves from Spanish keeper David De Gea that there was a point still rescuable in the final few moments, and the Swedes can curse the Manchester United keeper once again after some truly remarkable stops in the first half.
Janne Andersson’s men came out of the blocks quickly, despite the full heat of the sun beating down on the pitch, and the Spanish goal was quickly under siege from wave after wave of Swedish attacks. In truth, most of the balls delivered into the area by young winger Irandust were not of a high enough quality to trouble seasoned professionals like Ramos, but the sheer volume of them will have been a cause for concern for Luis Enrique. One wonders whether the Spanish defence would stand up to such a barrage from one of the favourites in this year’s tournament. That said, in the 24th minute, one of Irandust’s deliveries did find its target, the head of Alexander Isak, who must have felt right at home, a mere hour along the coast from his current club, Real Sociadad’s, home in Donosti. His glancing header looped towards the far corner and appeared to be destined for the net, only for De Gea to claw it onto the angle of the goal. It was the first moment of real quality and hailed a 5 minute period in which De Gea would have to rescue his shell shocked defence on no fewer than 4 different occasions.
The first of these was a ball played through the middle to Isak by former Sunderland and Birmingham stalwart Sebastian Larsson. There appeared to be a breakdown in communication between Ramos and Carvajal , allowing the striker a one-on-one with the Spanish keeper. However, the occasion seemed to get to the young man, and his hesitation gave De Gea time to smother the ball at his feet. Moments later, De Gea would pull off a stunning treble save, first from a Larsson free kick and then as both Isak and Olsson attempted to stab home the loose ball. Iñigo Martinez eventually hacked the ball clear, before turning to signal to the fans to get behind the team as they struggled to contain the blue and yellow assault.
Iñigo Martinez knows this stadium and knows this area. He was born on the coast of Bizkaia, of which Bilbao is capital, and plays his football here for Athletic Club. Whether because of his connection to the city, or because of the passion of his plea, his appeal signified a real change in the crowd. Until now, the stands had been quiet, a mixture of uninterested Basques, who had suddenly found themselves Scandinavian for the day, and spoilt Spanish fans, used to seeing their side control matches with ease. After Martinez’s demonstration of frustration, the volume markedly increased, and the quality of football from the hosts rose in tandem with it. Sweden were lucky to reach halftime level, with both Morata and Thiago going close with long range efforts. When half time arrived, it appeared we were in for a high-paced, evenly-matched second half. This was not to be.
The second half began with Spain appearing much more self assured. They moved the ball around with confidence and, crucially, both Carvajal and Bernat were much quicker to shut down Swedish raids down the flanks. This greater control was almost immediately rewarded as, in the 47th minute, a Swedish move down the left was stopped by Carvajal, who played a first time ball in behind the high Blågult defensive line. Morata, totally alone as he ran onto the ball, coolly took the ball around Olsen before slotting into an empty net.
The second was not long in coming. This time, a ball played onto the left wing was collected by Ceballos whose cross into the area could serve as a good example for Irandust to emulate after his quantity over quality approach in the early first half. The ball picked out Morata perfectly and he made no mistake, heading the ball down and up into the roof of the net.
In truth, the game was over as a spectacle after this 51st minute second goal for Morata, and Swedish heads sank both on the pitch and in the stands. The remainder of the game was played as a training match, as both teams seemed reluctant to exert themselves in the 32C heat, with more games to come. Swedish fans watching on may well lament their team’s failure to replace the iconic Ibrahimović since his retirement from international football in 2016 as they failed to muster anything approaching a goal threat throughout the second half. They did hold a significant amount of possession against a team famed for their control of the ball, but it never really looked like they were going to mount a comeback. There would be little in the way of talking points from this point on, then, but for the inexplicable actions of the Spanish captain, Sergio Ramos.
The goal itself was unremarkable. A corner was won in the 88th minute after a mix-up between two Swedish defenders allowed the ball to drift out of play by the right corner flag. The corner was initially cleared but, after Busquets had tried his luck from 30 yards, a goalmouth scramble ensued, leading to Ramos stabbing the ball home from 5 yards. He wheeled away in celebration, and appeared to be going to celebrate with someone on the bench.
However, what followed will remain an iconic moment in this year’s tournament and, sadly, an open wound for years to come in the context of Spanish football. Ramos removed a Spanish flag from under a seat in the dugout and unfurled it, holding it up to the crowd. The history of the Basque region’s relationship with Spain is well known, and there’s certainly no time to delve into it here, but suffice to say that the crowd was aghast. Several things were thrown and there were even reports of scuffles between fans ostensibly here to support the same team. The Spanish team was split on the pitch too, with players such as Martinez and Oyarzabal quick to take their positions for the restart, with others such as Carvajal running to Ramos. Eventually, the flag was removed, but by now the atmosphere in the quickly emptying stadium had soured markedly.
Fielding questions after the game, Luis Enrique lamented the incident, saying that anything that overshadows a fantastic second half performance was to be regretted. His attempt to avoid the wider questions around Ramos’ actions was to be expected, but it is doubtful that this incitement will go unpunished by UEFA, and indeed the city which is to be Spain’s home once again for their next two matches, against Poland and Ireland. Sweden can take comfort from the fact that this was, on paper, their toughest test of the group stage, Spain may find that their problems are only just beginning.
Man of the Match: David de Gea
Attendance: 51,904