Rome (AFP)
Spain, impressive technical mastery, was crowned European Champion Espoirs for the fifth time in its history by beating Germany 2-1 Sunday in Udine, in the north-east of Italy.
In this tight and tight Euro, played over just two weeks, the final was, according to almost all observers, the two best teams in the tournament.
And the strongest won, Spain having mastered this final except for the last five minutes, complicated by the German goal, scored by Amiri in the 87th minute on a deflected shot.
But before that, Luis De La Fuente's team controlled the match and its rhythm, relying on a perfectly well-rounded collective and the talent of a few individuals above the rest, starting with Fabian Ruiz and Dani Ceballos.
The first, holder in Naples, scored the first goal in the 7th minute, a nice shot from the left came to punish the passivity of the German defense that allowed him to approach without ever attacking.
Germany only started to get their head off the water after half an hour of play, and the match was balanced.
But he fell on a hand foul of German goalkeeper Nübel, who has not controlled a shot this time without risk Fabian Ruiz. Dani Olmo followed and poked his ball to take the score to 2-0 (69th).
German side Luca Waldschmidt, untenable in Italy with seven goals in the first four games, this time was quiet until a shot without danger in the 58th minute. He even missed an easy opportunity in the 83rd minute.
Despite a more uncertain end of game, the Spaniards have imposed themselves logically and take their revenge on the previous edition in 2017, when Germany had beaten 1-0 in the final in Poland.
Spain, dominated in the inaugural match by Italy (3-1), had returned slowly to the tournament and even passed close to the disaster since it beat Belgium (2-1) that thanks to a goal in the 89th minute, which saved him from elimination. In the semifinals, the Spaniards, however, outclassed the French 4-1.
In the end, Spain leaves Italy with a fifth title, after those of 1986, 1998, 2011 and 2013, matching the record of the host country.
? 2019 AFP