It's exceedingly rare to see a side enter an international tournament and manage to play its best, most aesthetically pleasing soccer for the entire month-long affair. It does happen—the Spanish men absolutely steamrolled Euro 2012, and the USWNT did the same at the 2019 World Cup—but more often than not, exhaustion, nerves, and tough matchups will force a team to win ugly on the way to the trophy. In Wednesday's Euro 2025 semifinal against Germany, Spain won ugly, as ugly as I've seen during the team's ongoing run of dominance, though La Roja did manage to sneak some real transcendence into a long and draining night in Zurich.
Defector
• Luis Paez-Pumar
Spain Won An Ugly Game Thanks To Moments Of Splendor

