Five reasons to believe in Spain (and five to doubt)

On the day after winning a title, the analyzes tend to exaggerate, intuiting a bright future, assuming the spigot trophy of a change of momentum. The sincere joy of Sunday night on the National Team bus, prolonged on Monday, despite the fatigue with the visits to Zarzuela and the Wizink, did not admit any cloud on the horizon of a team that has a year to go Eurocopa of Germany, tournament for which he still has to qualify. A group that yes, that has things, but also lacks others.

Five positive aspects

the smell of victory. “More than for the title itself, we need to win to return to winning momentum,” Rodri said before and after the final.. The professionals maintain that winning leads to winning, and vice versa, so it is possible to think that having broken the barrier of a final in the third (in these 11 years Spain lost the 2013 Confederations and the 2021 Nations) will serve to take the pressure off and face the future with the certainty of someone who already knows the way to win.

At last a great star. Rodri is the best midfielder in the world. It's not that his coach at City says it, it's that he is, and with an abysmal difference over the second. Coincidence or not, Busquets' farewell to the national team and his team's enormous season have exalted him. In a vital position for a team, Spain has the best, and that, in recent years, was something that was missed.

Pedri is missing. The selection has won the Nations with the absence of one of the few indisputable of this team. Pedri, the team's best player since 2021, asked for rest to recover from his injuries, but when he returns, he will start, being treated as a differential player who can make real differences. With him, the team will grow, there is no doubt about that, and if the injuries respect him, there is a footballer for a decade. Two of the best in the world would be in that midfield.

Unai Simón, during the penalty shootout. AFP

Youth. Despite the fact that Luis de la Fuente came to this tournament making some contradictory decisions (he called Navas and Alba, two veterans of immediate performance because there were only two games to win a title), the backbone of the team is young. In its first call, that of March, the average age was 26.3, and here it has risen a year due to those specific decisions. But Unai Simón, Le Normand, Rodri, Pedri, Gavi, Olmo, Merino…. none is over 27 years old, and this indicates that, at least until the 2026 World Cup, this generation of players can be counted on to weave a medium-term project.

one year to work. It is the time that is missing for the Eurocopa of Germany. On average there will be between eight and 10 games, but of course, they still have to qualify, so the clashes will have pressure. The most immediate, a very uncomfortable trip to Georgia in September that, after the slip against Scotland, could be a serious problem if they do not win. In fact, that match could change everything.. For better or worse.

five negative elements

Discreet medium level. Rodri is the best in the world, yes. And Pedri could become one of the best, yes. But that's it. Untill there. None of the other selectable footballers, neither those who have been in the Netherlands these days nor one who has been left out, is in the world Top-5 in his position. Is Unai a good goalkeeper? Yes. Are Laporte and Le Normand good central defenders? Yes. Do Asensio and Ansu have much potential? Yes. But…

missing goal. The teams that win do it when they play well and when they don't, and normally when they don't play well they win because they have a guy who scores goals when necessary, beyond the game.. Argentina, France, Brazil have it…. to england. However, hardly Morata (30 goals) seems a minimum guarantee, and it is already known that this, in his case, goes by streaks. Without a goal, when things get ugly, everything is much worse.

Loss of identity. Luis Enrique's team was perfectly recognizable, and in adverse situations, knowing by heart what to do.. Of course there is also another way to see this defect. It could be a virtue if it is assumed that today, Spain does not play only in one way. In this League of Nations we have seen her defend withdrawn, play long, adapt, in short, to the conditions of the match and the rival.

Carvajal and Nacho, after the final. AFP

Veteran full-backs. Carvajal was the star of the final with that Panenka. He had entered replacing Navas (37 years old). On the other side was Alba (34). The Madrid full-back, by the way, is 31. It is a very specific position, which with De la Fuente requires a lot of physical exertion, so that those ages do not even allow him to ensure his good performance within a course. If anything, in the case of Carvajal. What comes from behind (Balde, Pedro Porro, etc…) is yet to be confirmed.

Low hitch. The final was watched by 7.2 million Spaniards, with a 48.4% audience share. If it had been a World Cup or a European Championship, that would have doubled. Not being bad, in the environment it is breathed that the fans, in general, are somewhat far from the team. The absence of titles until Sunday, and the profile of the players make us think that it will be necessary to repeat what happened in Rotterdam in a really big tournament to reawaken the interest of the people, today already thinking about the summer.