Catalonia's national team gave a merciless thrashing to Jamaica (6-0) in a 90-minute display of attacking football at a friendly match at Montilivi, in a day that was festive both on and off the field of the FC Girona stadium.
Unbeatable start with a stellar Deulofeu
March 25th, 2019 was the last time the Catalan national side played a match. That was against Venezuela and the Catalans won 2-1, but the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic meant that they have had to wait more than three years to start a match to the tones of "Els Segadors" and restate the demand for the presence of Catalan national teams in international competition.
With a competitive Catalan squad, and a starting eleven that offered great promise, coach Gerard López's players were quick to show that they wanted to get to work. In the 3rd minute, Gerard Deulofeu, converted into a very good centre forward at Italy's Udinese, took advantage of an error by the Jamaican defence to beat Barnes and score the first without opposition.
But Deulofeu was thirsty to stamp his name on the match, perhaps to give a nudge to anyone who might have missed his conversion turned into a top scorer in Serie A. In the 28th minute, after a long possession by Aleñá, he scored the second, just minutes before Marc Bartra, captain, put the third on the Montilivi scoreboard with a good header.
Two more in the second half
And shortly before the break, more Deulofeu. The former Barça and Watford player took advantage of Aleñá's gift, after a great pass from Riqui Puig, to put the ball in at his leisure for his personal hat-trick and the team's 4-0, the score as Catalans and Jamaicans went off to suck on their oranges.
In the second half, Gerard López changed nine of the eleven players, keeping on Bartra and Deulofeu, whom he replaced seven minutes later, and although the chances kept coming, the inspiration was not the same. Lleida's Pere Milla and Barça's Jutglà could have scored a Catalan goal in the first minutes, but Jamaica were able to hold on at 4-0 until the 75th minute.
A quarter of an hour from the end, and shortly after a chance had been denied him, Ferran Jutglà found he had a ticket to the goal-scoring party and achieved the Catalan maneta. Into injury time, there were chances at both ends: Jamaica could have scored the goal of honour and Catalonia could have widened the rout, and in the end it was the latter with Javi Puado converting a penalty that he himself had received, to put the final 6-0 into the opinion bag and end a party that had 6,124 guests in the stands.
Main image: the Catalan players celebrate their win against Jamaica / @FCF_CAT