BERLIN — Greedy for the ball no more, Spain has won a game by playing unlike Spain.
After La Roja's 3-0 victory over Croatia 3-0 at Euro 2024 on Saturday, the match statistics showed something extremely rare: Spain had only 46% possession.
Stats analyst Opta said it was the first time in 136 competitive matches that Spain had less of the ball than its opponent. Opta said that had not happened since the Euro 2008 final against Germany, which Spain won 1-0, also with 46% possession.
That includes World Cups, European Championships, Confederations Cups and the Nations League.
''The important thing is winning and playing well, not the possession stats,'' Spain midfielder Fabián Ruiz said after scoring a goal and setting up another against Croatia.
It's a remarkable shift in focus for a team that had become synonymous with possession, almost obsessed with holding onto the ball above all else. The strategy had served Spain well. Spain won the 2010 World Cup under coach Vicente del Bosque, then Euro 2012 as defending champion — both while dominating possession.
The passing style came to be known as tika-taka, championed by Spain coach Luis Aragonés before del Bosque took over, and borrowing heavily from the style practiced by Barcelona at the time.
But when the passing style perfected by midfield greats Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta stopped winning titles, their successors passed the ball even more with diminishing returns.
