Just the beginning for Yamal as Spain's 16-year-old sensation stars in Croatia demolition

16-year-old Lamine Yamal wrote his name into history books that you think better set plenty of pages aside.

ONLY GETTING STARTED: Spain's Lamine Yamal, centre, runs with the ball next to Croatia's Josko Gvardiol. Pic: Manu Fernandez, AP

Euro 2024: Spain 3 Croatia 0 

Beginnings and endings…tournament football is just full of them. 

Even this tournament, with its comforting safety net for a majority of third-placed finishers who get to stick around. Even this one has endings too.

Euro 2024 is not 24 hours old yet has found a few of both. A new Germany began it all Friday night in Munich with a deafening bang. 

Spain’s own fresh generation responded in kind in Berlin on Saturday evening, 16-year-old Lamine Yamal writing his name into history books that you think better set plenty of pages aside.

The Barcelona winger began his major tournament career in tantalizing fashion on a sun-kissed night at the Olympiastadion. 

With 25 minutes to go and the shadows creeping in and around the old place, Yamal was still burning bright down the right wing, looking for clear light in behind Josko Gvardiol.

By that point, an ending was underway. We know that this tournament will be Luka Modric's last. 

After 65 minutes he was hauled ashore along with longtime sidekick Mateo Kovacic. 

Modric had been an unfortunate victim during a first-half Spanish salvo that saw the game sewn up before the break. It was Yamal who provided the exclamation point on La Roja’s riposte to Germany and the other contenders.

With captain Alvaro Morata looking confident leading the line, Rodri imperious in the middle and Yamal and Nico Williams showing so much promise out wide, Luis de la Fuente’s side provided a compelling exhibition of their credentials. 

Lamine Yamal...💨😳

The starboy is a history maker.⭐️ pic.twitter.com/zUtMf4VKfj

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 15, 2024

This is no finished project, defensive frailties and a couple of second-half wobbles evidence of that. But it is a project going places, with Yamal leading the way.

There had been some speculation, and with it plenty of understandable concern, that Zlatko Dalic might have opted to deploy veteran Ivan Perisic in a wing-back role again Yamal. 

The 35-year-old hasn’t played 90 minutes all year, moving back home to Hajduk Split in an effort to rush back from an ACL injury. It’s hardly ideal preparation to face the hottest teenage talent in the sport.

From first light in Berlin, it was the tablecloth red and white of Croatia which caught the eye.

In the streets and in the stands, Spain were going to be overwhelmingly outnumbered but that shouldn’t have been taken as a sign of a lack of confidence. 

Even in their glorious era from 2008-12 they rarely travelled in numbers. 

De la Fuente’s version had brought optimism back in the past 12 months, last summer’s Nations League victory over the Croats relighting a Roja spark, Yamal and Williams’ form adding more recent fuel.

Tantalising Spanish youth. Ageless (but only to a point) Croatian experience. 

A stunning summer Saturday evening in Berlin’s leafy west. Anything else to throw in the pot? How about the modern echoes of this old place? 

As Modric and Morata led their sides up the steps, and Croatian lungs emptied, you remembered that this was the first major championship game here since Zinedine Zidane walked down them in infamy at the 2006 World Cup Final.

We’ll all be back here again on July 14 for another final and two of a plethora of justified Euro 2024 contenders went looking for a statement to lay down across the Olympiastadion surface and stretch out across the land.

Spain’s early pressing was at the very least a loud word of intent. They hemmed in the Croatian defence and caused a couple of cheap giveaways but couldn’t conjure them into something more meaningful, Morata snatching at a seventh-minute chance. 

Ruiz was keeping one eye and half of the other on Modric, marshalling him into tight confines.

Yet by the time we hit the midway mark of the half you wondered whether Croatia might actually be doing that Croatia thing again, wrestling control of the game without you even noticing. You’re admiring their chequered kit patterns and don’t realise the passing patterns are now theirs too.

Then came the opener, which a lazy analysis might suggest appeared out of nothing. It didn’t. 

It came from something and someone, Rodri snapping onto broken ball and feeding Ruiz who sent a superb pass into open space ahead of Morata. 

The captain raced on to it and found the kind of confident and perfect first touch, not to mention finish, which will do wonders for him and his team.

Within three minutes it was two and just a little painful to watch. 

The opener had given Spain and instant and visible looseness. 

Yamal chanced his first dribble, doubled back and found Pedri who fed Ruiz. 

The PSG man stepped and Modric, unfortunately, bought it lock stock. For good measure Ruiz fooled Marcelo Brozovic too, Kovacic watching on from nearby as the vaunted Croatian midfield was left utterly adrift.

Yet Croatia had their chances too. 

Marc Cucurella wasn’t looking settled on the left side of defence and, devoid of Aymeric Laporte, the unit as a whole had some hairy moments. 

A Brozovic drive stung Unai Simon’s paws and Lovro Majer found nothing but sidenet with the rebound. Gvardiol later flashed one across the goal only for Ante Budimir to miss a tap-in by a millimetre.

Small margins. But big ones too. Because just before halftime it was 3-0 and all but over. A corner routine of sorts left Yamal in command, the 16-year-old decision-maker. He went with what he knew best, whipping in a gorgeous, devilish cross which Dani Carvajal needed to simply meet to convert.

Croatia had almost 60 percent of the possession and more shots on target in the first half but this new tournament has already reminded us of old wisdom. For a start, games are not won in the stands, Scotland last night and Croatia tonight are proof of as much. 

Secondly, taking your chances is essential.

Even as the second half wound down towards the Berlin twilight, Croatia couldn’t take any of theirs. 

Dominik Livakovic had saved from Yamal soon after the restart to keep things respectable and goal difference could be key with Albania and Italy to come next for Dalic’s side.

They spurned a golden if bizarre opportunity to get one back when a 79th-minute penalty came their way in comical fashion. A charge-down by Majer saw the ball break to substitute Bruno Petkovic who eschewed a wide-open goal to exaggerate an apparent trip from Rodri. 

Michael Oliver pointed to the spot and should surely have shown a red given it was as goal-scoring as any opportunity gets.

Simon saved from Petkovic only to see Perisic cross it back to the striker to bundle home. Consolation? No. VAR spotted that Perisic had encroached and so the whole befuddling mess had mattered not a jot. 

One small blot which may matter was Morata hobbling off with an apparent injury but at the final whistle he strode over to salute the Spanish fans in one corner showing little sign of being troubled.

Ultimately his team hadn’t been all that troubled either. Impressive…and just the beginning.

S pain (4-3-3): Simon 7; Carvajal 8, Le Normand 6, Nacho 7, Cucurella 6; Pedri 6 (Dani Olmo 59), Rodri 8 (Zubimendi 87), Fabian Ruiz 8; Yamal 8 (Torres 86), Morata 8 (Oyarzabal 67), Williams 7 (Merino 68).

Goals: Morata (29), Ruiz (32), Carvajal (45+2).

Booked: Rodri.

Croatia (4-3-3): Livakovic 5; Stanisic 6, Sutalo 5, Pongracic 5, Gvardiol 6; Modric 5 (Pasalic 66), Brozovic 4, Kovacic 5 (Sucic 65); Majer 5, Budimir 4 (Perisic 56), Kramaric 5 (Petkovic 72).

Referee: Michael Oliver (ENG) 7 

Attendance: 68,844