European Championship Group B

Spain vs Albania LIVE from 9pm

Goalscorer Ferran Torres

(Bild: AFP)

Spain also won their third group game at the European Championships in Germany on Monday. The Iberians beat Albania 1:0 with a B team.

Albania, who would have had to win against the Spaniards to have a chance of reaching the knockout phase, played bravely but ultimately had no chance and finished bottom of the group. The Spaniards will continue their campaign next Sunday against a third-placed team.

The Spanish starting eleven against Albania

(Bild: AP)

De la Fuente makes ten changes
What do I care about what I said yesterday? That's what Spain's team boss Luis de la Fuente must have thought when he mused in the run-up to the last group game against Albania that he would rotate as few players as possible to ensure his team didn't lose focus despite the fact that they had already won their group. Well, he probably came to a different conclusion and left ten players from the starting eleven on the bench against Italy. This was only clear in the run-up to the game in the case of Rodri, who was suspended due to two yellow cards. The only player to remain in the starting line-up was central defender Aymeric Laporte.

(Bild: AP)

Albania relied on their strongest eleven, with coach Sylvinho only changing the right-back: Ivan Balliu started in place of Elseid Hysaj. The Albanians, under pressure to win, started very aggressively and pressed very high. The first few minutes were correspondingly difficult for the newly formed "Furia roja" this time in yellow. But not for long: in the 12th minute, the Spaniards made their first dangerous approach to the Albanian goal, but Albania goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha managed to keep out Mikel Merino's header.

(Bild: AFP)

A minute later he had no chance: Dani Olmo sent right-winger Ferran Torres into the lane, who shot from half-right past Strakosha into the far corner. The ball found its way into the net from the bar. The Spaniards now had the game under control. The Albanians hardly got in front of goal, and when they did, they lacked the manpower to put the "Furia roja" in trouble.

B-team becomes more and more secure
Spain's B team became more and more confident and eager to play. Shortly before the break, Albania did become dangerous: Kristjan Asllani tested David Raya, who was guarding the Spanish goal instead of Unai Simon, with a long-range shot. However, the Arsenal London goalkeeper was on the alert. The game went into the break at 0:1.

(Bild: AP)

There was little change to the character of the game at first: Laporte, the last of the starting eleven against Italy, had to call it a day and was replaced by Robin Le Normand at the break. The Spaniards controlled the game without putting any real pressure on the Albanian goal. The Albanians had the odd opportunity to switch quickly. However, these were not played out well and the Spaniards were able to defend without much difficulty.

Until the 64th minute, when substitute Armando Broja tested Raya and forced the Spanish keeper to make a save, the Albanians moved forward and stepped up their attacking efforts. They were not really dangerous after the break, while the Spaniards largely held on to their lead.

In stoppage time, the Albanians, who made a valiant effort, missed another chance to equalize through Broja, who was denied by Raya. The Spaniards showed a certain sloppiness, but this ultimately had no consequences.