The roar of the Olympiastadion in Helsinki was a physical force, a tidal wave of sound that crashed against the glass of the dugout.
For Mateo Álvarez, the noise was a symphony of anticipation, a prelude to a moment he had envisioned countless times since he was a boy of six, kicking a worn leather ball against a sun-baked wall in the dusty courtyard of Casa de los Niños.
He felt the vibration of the crowd deep in his bones, a tremor that was both exhilarating and profoundly familiar.
Word had spread like wildfire through the stands: Spain's youngest-ever player, a mere sixteen-year-old, was about to make his senior international debut. Camera flashes flickered like distant lightning, each burst attempting to capture a sliver of this historic occasion.
