Spain beat Germany at its own tactical game in the Euro quarterfinals

As the two faced off Friday, 16 years on from that momentous final, the most striking thing was just how far the stylistic pendulum had swung. 

Both teams were happy to break up play with professional fouls, and neither seemed particularly interested in hanging onto possession. Gone was the tiki-taka ball control synonymous with Spain in 2008; in its place rose the physicality once celebrated by the Germans.

No one embodied this change more than Spain's goalscorer, Dani Olmo. The Leipzig-based striker has played in Germany for the majority of his career, and his approach lifted Spain throughout much of the match. 

Olmo came on in the 10th minute after Pedri's untimely injury and quickly became the most impactful player on the field. Where others were cautious, he was brave; where others tried to fire the ball in from the flanks, he was unapologetically direct.

Olmo has been one of the biggest stars of this new-look Spain side, and he's been open in the press about the magnitude of the change it's undergone. 

"We try and take risks a little bit more," he told The Guardian's Sid Lowe before the Germany match. "Structurally it's different to before. With (former Spain coach) Luis Enrique I played more on the wing, sometimes as a No. 9, sometimes as an inside midfielder, but the No. 10 position didn't exist, which is where I feel best. (Current Spain coach) Luis de la Fuente knows me perfectly, he knows where I can perform."

Longtime fans of European soccer will know exactly what Olmo was referencing. Spain teams of old were famous for playing with no strikers at all; la furia roja won the World Cup in 2010 playing no one more offensive than a false nine. 

This Spain team, under de la Fuente's careful watch, is far more traditional in its offensive approach. Olmo was given freedom in this game to run through the middle as a striker would, and that freedom wound up paying off for Spain.

But it paid off for Germany, too. The directness that killed it in 2008 saved it in 2024, with Florian Wirtz and Niclas Fullkrug's second-half performances rescuing the team from a regular-time defeat. 

It's no surprise that Fullkrug — a 31-year-old striker who spent years bouncing around the German lower divisions — didn't break into the German national team until recently. He is, simply put, a very aggressive player, one who focuses on power and physicality over on-the-ball skill. 

He would not have been celebrated during the possession-based years of the 2010s. It's a testament to how much — and how quickly — the pendulum has swung that his inclusion in the national team is now celebrated as brilliant.

Spain may have knocked Germany out of Euro 2024, but Germany's cultural influence over the global game is clearly just beginning.

Spain will play either Portugal or France in the Euro semifinals on Tuesday, July 9 in Munich.