It may not be the great Spain team of a decade ago, but the class of 2021 is not going smoothly.
At risk of going home early after starting their Euro 2020 campaign with two lame draws, Luis Enrique's team made it to the knockout round with a 5-0 win over Slovakia. In the last 16 against 2018 World Cup runners-up Croatia, they were left behind thanks to a bizarre goal; recovered to go up 3-1; Conceded twice in the last 10 minutes ensuring extra time; And then the game had to be won again.
After 120 minutes of chaos, Spain eventually won 5-3 and will face either France or Switzerland in the quarter-finals in St Petersburg on Saturday. The victory at Copenhagen's Parken Stadium was their first success in a knockout game in a major tournament since the final of Euro 2012, completing a hat-trick of trophies following successes at Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup.
This edition of Spain may not have the talent of those teams but they are not lacking in character. To this day, it was embodied by goalkeeper Unai Simon and especially striker Alvaro Morata.
It was Simon's terrifying error that caused Pedri to barely score his 40-yard goal to give Croatia the lead. Then, with a score of 3–3 in extra time, Athletic Bilbao's goalkeeper made a brilliant save to deny Andrrej Kramaric.
Morata, meanwhile, has been the subject of death threats following his opening performances this summer and despite missing an early header from point-blank range, it was his clinical end after a wonderful first touch that saw the Made Spain 4-3.
Enrique sometimes seemed like Morata should play as Spain's first-choice centre-forward, but his confidence paid off with an all-round performance that went some way to explaining why clubs across Europe Has scored a combined £170 million for his services.
"It's true that I've gone through things I don't like, but most of Spain is with me," Morata later said. "The goal is for my wife, my children and all those who support me. You have to suffer to experience such moments."
A team criticized for not having a final product that deserved a build-up has now become the first team in European Championship history to score five goals in back-to-back games.
Sergio Busquets later said, "We had a chance to finish the game too early but we showed the whole character." "When Croatia changed their system, they filled the pitch up and we didn't adjust quickly enough. Unfortunately, we couldn't make it 4-1 before their fight.
"But overall I am very satisfied with the result, how we handled the extra time and the fact that we are in the quarter-finals.
“Unai Simon knows he has all our confidence. The goal was bad luck, but he had a very calm mindset while remaining ambitious, and he showed it today.
He was extremely safe after goal and made some top saves."
It is still a Spain stuck between the ages and while Enrique has a lot of issues to solve before traveling to Russia for the next round - at least his team leads 3-1 on 85 minutes. How it managed to grow and eventually needed extra time. Look at Croatia - he can be satisfied that he is laying the foundation for another cycle of success.
Barcelona midfielder Pedri, still only 18, was excellent in helping Spain reach victory in normal time, while Ferran Torres was impressive in his role on the wing, scoring one goal and one assist. The 21-year-old showed glimpses of his potential in his first season at Manchester City and only needs to get better. Only 20-year-old Eric Garcia started as centre-back and after limited opportunities at Manchester City, his move to Barcelona should accelerate his development.
Not only has Enrique placed his faith in the youth, but his decision to bring back Cesar Azpilicueta has proved to be a masterstroke. The 31-year-old Chelsea defender made his debut in 2013 but had not played for Spain since November 2018, prior to the tournament. Back in the side, he scored his first international goal on the day to beat Spain 2–1 and also kept Josko Guardiol calm in Croatia's final group game after so many problems for Scotland.
"We had to suffer there," said Azpilicueta. "It's been a few tournaments since we went through the knockout match but today we broke the ice against the World Cup runners-up. Scoring twice late in normal time wasn't great but we were a better team in extra time. And we deserve to go through it."
Hit by Covid-19 during its preparation and finishing second in Group E behind Sweden to end up on the tough side of a draw, Spain is not doing things the easy way at Euro 2020. They seemed desperate to make it difficult for themselves. Croatia too, but by the end of the week they will be one of only eight teams.