PRESENT PLAYING PERFECT PAST

Youngster Gavi’s Combine With The More Mature Pedri Evokes Memories Of The Xavi-Iniesta Days

- Siddharth.Saxena timesgroup.com

Doha: Gavi came in wearing a finely cut dark suit matched with oversized white trainers. These days, they do not look odd to the middle-aged gaze anymore. It helped that the shirt was crisp white and unbuttoned at the neck. The sartorial awakening apart, what left a mark was that it was the only time all evening that Gavi exuded calm and poise.

It was the most astonishing transformation. Less than an hour earlier, he was all sweaty, the young boy’s cheeks flushed with effort and intensity, his hair tousled as he raced into an angry scrap to extricate Dani Olmo from a couple of extremely confused and hapless Costa Rican defenders.

He had also been hurling himself on top of the pyramid each time Spain scored in their opening game here on Wednesday. And they scored many, while playing a thousand passes. Someone pointed out that Spain had scored eight goals on way to winning the 2010 title in South Africa. Here in Qatar – 12 years and nearly a generation later – they already have seven in their first game itself.