Mumbai: Moments after the match ended at the Cologne Stadium on Sunday, the broadcasters caught a visual that quickly gained traction on social media. It involved Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams playing a game of rock, paper, scissors. We were reminded of how young they are, even if their sizzling performance had just showed us they don’t kid around with the ball on their feet.

The duo powered Spain to a 4-1 win over Georgia in the Euro round of 16. It sets up a mouth-watering quarter-final between Spain and hosts Germany – the two most successful sides in tournament history.

Yamal will celebrate his 17th birthday two days before the final, which is on July 15. Williams will turn 22 a day earlier. Together, they’ve been tasked with providing La Roja with the pace, precision and creativity that’s needed on either wing. Against Georgia, they brought all of that, and then some.

For Georgia coach Willy Sagnol, the goal for the tournament was to dish out performances that the lowest ranked side of Euro 2024 could be proud of. By reaching the knockouts, his squad had already achieved that. In the pre-quarters, they were up against a team ranked No.8 in the world, 66 spots above them. Last September, when the sides met in the qualifiers, Spain had romped to a 7-1 victory. And to make matters worse, Georgia only got a four-day rest period compared to the nine most Spanish players got. There were no real expectations of an upset.

However, like they did in their 2-0 win over Portugal to close out the group stage, Georgia showed how devastating they can be on the counter by taking the lead in the 18th minute. Otar Kakabadze made a run down the right flank and whipped in the ball, which was diverted into his own net by centre-back Robin Le Normand after an awkward bounce. With Spain enjoying over 70% possession until then, it was a moment no one saw coming.

That remained the high point of the night for Georgia and their fans, for the three-time champions were ruthless thereafter. Despite paying the price for committing players forward, Spain continued with their bold approach and drew level through a Rodri strike in the 39th minute. Like with his club Manchester City, the midfielder has a calming influence on his team and he showed his versatility with a superb left-footed strike from the edge of the box.

And then, in the second half, the Yamal-Williams show began. Spain took the lead in the 51st minute after a sublime cross from Yamal that was headed in at the far post by Fabian Ruiz. Fourteen minutes later, they pulled off a blazing counterattack of their own with Williams, who began his run from the Spanish half, skipping past a defender before smashing the ball past the keeper. Eight minutes later, the rout was complete as Dani Elmo slotted home the ball from the edge of the box after a wonderful first touch to create space.

Spain’s utter dominance showed in the staggering numbers. They had 72% possession, 13 corners, 36 attempts on goal, and 108 attacks in all. They were perhaps wasteful in front of the goal, but there was no denying that they showed the sort of dominance expected of a big footballing nation. And it was the Yamal-Williams combination that was driving force. Their bursts of speed, quick-footed trickery and clever movement off the ball left Georgia’s defenders exhausted. While there’s scope for Yamal’s finishing to improve, coach Luis de la Fuente will know the two youngsters have the skill and temperament to rattle the best.

One got a sense of it when they began their campaign with a 3-0 win over Croatia before edging out defending champions Italy. When they finished the group stage without conceding a goal after defeating Albania, despite making 10 changes to their starting XI, it was certain they would be title favourites. And now, after seeing their composed comeback win over Georgia, it’s perhaps fair to say that Spain are the team to beat in the competition.

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