The supremely talented Barcelona teenager helped La Roja see off a spirited Oranje team to book their place in the semi-finals
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Spain go through to Nations League semi-finalsBeat Netherlands on penalties after 5-5 aggregate drawOyarzabal sparkles in normal time as Pedri wins shootoutFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty Images SportTELL ME MORE
Spain and Netherlands drew 2-2 in the first leg of their quarter-final tie at De Kuip after Mikel Merino scored in injury time to rescue the defending Nations League champions.
La Roja started the second leg off in a strong fashion as they dominated possession before Mikel Oyarzabal was fouled in the box by Jan Paul van Hecke. The Real Sociedad star slotted the penalty past Bart Verbruggen to put Spain ahead on aggregate. Nico Williams then had two gilt-edge chances to double Spain's lead but Verbruggen's sublime saves kept the game 1-0 at half-time.
It was the Netherlands who started all guns blazing in the second half as Unai Simon was called into action from a Justin Kluivert shot, keeping it out brilliantly. Memphis Depay then emulated Oyarzabal to win a penalty and score it to bring Ronald Koeman's side level on aggregate.
However, Spain regained control soon after Depay's equaliser and a sensational run from Williams resulted in an assist for Oyarzabal's second goal. However, La Roja were caught on their heels just 10 minutes later as Xavi Simon found debutant Ian Maatsen, who smashed the ball home to take the game to extra-time with the scoreline locked at 4-4 on aggregate.
The first half of extra time saw a very cagey yet cautious approach from both sides. However, Spain took the lead yet again thanks to a moment of magic from Lamine Yamal, who curled the ball into the far corner after a delightful touch to bring down Dean Huijsen's long ball in behind. The Netherlands kept fighting, though, and got their reward when Xavi Simons won a penalty and converted it to force a shootout.
Spain eventually won the penalty shootout 5-4 after six takes each. The shootout went to sudden death after Noa Lang and Yamal missed their respective spot kicks before Donyell Malen missed for the Netherlands, which allowed Pedri to score the winner for La Roja.
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Alvaro Morata missed the first leg against the Netherlands due to illness, and while the Spain captain was back in the squad, he was only fit enough to make the bench for Luis de la Fuente's side. As such, Oyarzabal was trusted yet again to start as a makeshift No.9. The Real Sociedad star delivered in an unnatural role as he scored a penalty and produced a poacher's finish to give La Roja the lead for the second time on the night before he was taken off for Ferran Torres.
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De La Fuente's decision to bench Pedri for the second leg raised quite a few eyebrows as the Barcelona midfielder has been in sensational form. La Roja struggled to find the key ball at the end of their long spells of possession on multiple occasions. However, those issues seemed to mitigate themselves as soon as Pedri was brought on as a second-half substitute and began pulling the strings for Spain in attack.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
Spain have now set up a showdown against 2021 Nations League winners France, who beat Croatia on penalties to reach the semi-finals of this year's tournament. The two sides will face off on June 4 in either Turin or Munich.