Spain vs. Croatia Nations League Final: Largely underwhelming?! | ESPN FC
FIREWORKS. HEY, HEY, HEY. >> IMMERSE YOURSELF IN THE CULTURE. DAN BEAUTIFUL, MAYBE. >> NO SURPRISES IN SPANISH CHAMPIONS. NOT CHAMPIONS. NO >> I KNEW THAT YOU HAD ISSUES WITH THAT BEFORE. >> CROATIA. I’VE GOT A GOOD RECORD, ACTUALLY. WHEN YOU TAKE A LOOK AT WHEN THINGS HAVE GONE TO EXTRA TIME. NOT THIS TIME OUT. THERE’S ONLY SECOND TIME THEY HAVE LOST WHEN IT’S GONE TO EXTRA TIME IN THEIR LAST EIGHT MATCHES. MEANWHILE FOR SPAIN THEY HAVE, BUT THE TREND VERY MUCH THEY’VE BEEN STRUGGLING SOMEWHAT IN EXTRA TIME. DO YOU REMEMBER THAT DEFEAT AGAINST MOROCCO AND
OF COURSE, ITALY IN THE SEMIFINALS OF THE EUROS? THIS TIME, THOUGH, THEY COME OUT THE WINNING SIDE. LUIS GARCIA, CONGRATULATIONS. WHAT A MOMENT FOR YOUR COUNTRY. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH. DONE ACTUALLY, WE’RE GOING TO CELEBRATE. WE’LL DO A PARADE HERE IN MADRID FOR SURE. I THINK THE PEOPLE IS ALREADY GETTING INTO. WE DON’T KNOW STILL WHERE IT’S GOING TO BE CELEBRATED, BUT SOON I CAN TELL YOU. YES, DUDE, THAT IS NOT PROBABLY THE BEST COMPETITION. THERE IS NOT THE BIGGEST COMPETITION, BUT AT LEAST IT’S SOMETHING THAT IT WAS NEEDED FOR SPAIN. THERE WAS A
LOT OF DOUBT IN LUIS DE LA FUENTE, THE COACH ARRIVING TO THE POSITION BECAUSE HE DIDN’T HAVE A BACKGROUND OF BEING OR MANAGING THE TEAMS. SO IT
IS A EUROS COMING UP AND I THINK IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO SPAIN TO GET THIS WIN, TO CELEBRATE AND TO KEEP THIS TRANSITION PERIOD THAT WE ARE IN AT THE MOMENT, BECAUSE DEFINITELY WE DON’T HAVE THE BEST PLAYERS AT THE MOMENT BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME INJURIES THERE. BUT I THINK WE CAN BE CONFIDENCE TO HAVE A GOOD TEAM WHEN THIS EUROPEAN COMPETITION ARRIVES. >> JULES I’M CONCERNED. >> UH OH, I’M SORRY WE PEAKED AT THE WORLD CUP FINAL. >> WHEN IT COMES TO INTERNATIONAL SHOWCASES BECAUSE EVERY FINAL SINCE I JUST FEEL HAS BEEN A
BIT DISAPPOINTED. CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, EUROPA LEAGUE THIS, I THOUGHT FRANCE AGAINST ARGENTINA WOULD SET THE TONE FOR THE FUTURE. >> YEAH, IT’S NOT LIKE THAT. I MEAN, I GUESS WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE AN MBAPPE MESSI FACING EACH OTHER IN THE FINAL, MAYBE HE DOESN’T HIT THE HEIGHTS THAT WE SAW IN QATAR. I ENJOYED THIS FINAL. >> NO, YOU DID A JOKE. DON’T LIE . >> THIS. IT’S TRUE. BUT THIS WAS NEVER GOING TO BE FOR THE REASONS THAT LUIS EXPLAIN ON THE SPAIN SIDE WITH THE TRANSITION THE NEW MANAGER AND MAYBE NOT A THE DEPTH IN
THE SQUAD AND THE KIND OF PLAYERS THAT SPAIN USED TO HAVE AND THE CROATIA TEAM THAT IS AT TIMES LOVELY TO WATCH, BUT STILL QUITE OLD AND STILL RELYING A LOT HEAVILY SOLELY ON THEIR MIDFIELD. >> THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE TO EXPECT REALLY FROM FROM THE FINAL. I THINK IT’S GOOD FOR SPAIN AND IT COULD MAYBE BE A TURNING POINT, CERTAINLY NOT JUST FOR PENALTY SHOOTOUT, BUT WITH DE LA FUENTE AND WITH THIS TRANSITION PERIOD FOR CROATIA, YOU HAVE TO FEEL FOR THEM BECAUSE THEY REACHED FINALS AND SEMIFINALS, BUT THEY NEVER WIN ANYTHING. SO THIS
GOLDEN GENERATION THAT THEY HAVE IS DIFFICULT. BUT YEAH, YOU’RE RIGHT. IN TERMS OF FINALS AND NOTHING WILL EVER BE THE 2022 WORLD CUP FINAL ANYWAY. >> OH, MAYBE THE 1998. >> FINALLY, FRANK YEAH, MAYBE. >> MAYBE. YOU KNOW WHAT? I CAN SAY SOMETHING. YOU KNOW, REALLY INTRIGUED ME DURING THAT GAME, I SAW TWO FRENCH CENTER BACK PLAY FROM FROM FOR SPAIN. AND I SAY, WELL, SPAIN, NOT NOT SO LONG AGO HAVING LIKE POOR PK RAMOS AND BECAME CHAMPION OF THE WORLD NOW THEY HAVE TO PICK TO GET SOME SOME PEOPLE FROM FRANCE CHANGE THEIR NATIONALITY
TO FIND TWO CENTER BACKS TO PLAY IT SAVES A LOT MAYBE OF THE POWER OF THE FRENCH CENTER BACKS AND THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE EDITION HAS TO PICK SOME CENTER BACKS OR MAYBE THE DIFFICULTIES FOR THE COACH OF THE NATIONAL TEAM OF SPAIN TO FIND TWO CENTER BACKS AT THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL. BUT PAIN IS A BIG COUNTRY OF FOOTBALL. NORMALLY, PLAYERS WILL BECOME OR CHOOSE ANOTHER NATIONALITY BECAUSE THEY WERE BORN WITH PARENTS FROM TWO NATIONALITY. THEY PICK UP THAT THAT SMALL COUNTRY BECAUSE THEY DON’T HAVE A CHANCE. THIS IS ONE OF SPAIN’S GREATEST EVER ACHIEVEMENTS.
>> AND YOUR POO POO IN IT BY SAYING THEY BASICALLY GOT A COUPLE OF FRENCH REJECTS. WHY DID YOU HAVE TO SAY GOOD THERE? I MEAN I MEAN, IT SAYS NO, BUT I THINK IT SAYS A LOT ABOUT THE LEVEL OF THE SPANISH TEAM JUST WON THE NATIONS FRANCE THAT’S THE LEVEL THEY’RE AT. WE’RE AT FRANCE IN THIS COMPETITION. NOWHERE >> OH, YES. YEAH, VERY MUCH. VERY. YOU’RE RIGHT. YOU MAKE A COMPARISON WITH A TEAM WHO PLAY THE FINAL OF THE WORLD CUP. LOST THE FINAL LOST THE FINAL OF THE WORLD CUP. >> OKAY. >>
THE FINAL OF THE WORLD CUP BECAUSE A FANTASTIC SAVE FROM MARTINEZ. WHY THEY WOULD HAVE WON AGAIN THE HUMILITY FROM FRANK AND TALKING ABOUT THE DOMINANCE OF THE FRENCH CENTER BACK REMIND ME WHAT POSITION DID FRANK PLAY? >> OH, I CAN’T REMEMBER. >> I DON’T KNOW, ALI. WE WERE GOING TO MOVE ON, BUT YOU DID HAVE TO WATCH THIS GAME. SO WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD ANYTHING TO FEEL UNDER PRESSURE HERE TO SAY SOMETHING? >> YOU DON’T HAVE TO SAY ANYTHING. >> WELL, IT WAS VERY OBVIOUS. >> AND THE GOLF. I HAD A LOT OF
THINGS. THE YANKEES AGAINST THE RED SOX. >> I DID HAVE A LOT OF THINGS ON. BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT WHAT WAS CLEAR TO SEE FROM BOTH TEAMS IS THAT IN THE FINAL THIRD, THEY HAVE SOME SERIOUS ISSUES. THEY JUST DON’T HAVE AN ELITE LEVEL SORT OF TALENT. AND SPAIN ARE STILL DEPENDING ON MORATA TO DO SOMETHING AND THAT MAY HAPPEN ONE DAY BUT MAY NOT HAPPEN FOR MANY DAYS. AND SIMILARLY CROATIA, THEY JUST DON’T HAVE ENOUGH IN THE ATTACK. SO WHILE THE STRENGTH MAY BE IN THE MIDFIELD FOR BOTH OF THEM, THAT MEANT
THAT THIS GAME WELL WAS LACKING A WHOLE LOT OF QUALITY IN THE ATTACKING HALF AND THEREFORE. YEAH, FORGIVE ME IF I WAS PAYING ATTENTION TO FORMULA ONE. FORGIVE ME IF I WAS PAYING ATTENTION TO GO AS WELL, THAT WAS TO IT HAS BEEN A DULL WEEKEND
