AILSA CHANG, HOST:
OK, Sunday was an epic day for Spain's sports fans. First, 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz won his second Wimbledon title yesterday in straight sets. And then all eyes turned to Berlin, where Spain beat England 2-1 in the European soccer championship. Watching all of this from the edge of his seat in Seville was reporter Miguel Macias, and he joins us now. Hey, Miguel.
MIGUEL MACIAS, BYLINE: Hey, Ailsa. How's it going?
CHANG: Hey. OK, I want to start at Wimbledon because Carlos Alcaraz was the defending championship, of course. He had also just won the French open. But, I mean, facing Novak Djokovic is never easy. So tell us more about what happened.
MACIAS: Yes. On a normal day, a Spaniard playing the final at Wimbledon would have been the main story of the day. I mean, we do well on clay at Roland-Garros almost every year, but Wimbledon has been tougher for Spaniards historically. Alcaraz beat Djokovic in three straight sets to win his second consecutive Wimbledon title. Again, this could have been all over the news, but there's no doubt that the national sport here is futbol, or soccer. And Alcaraz's great victory to win his fourth overall grand slam was completely overshadowed by the anticipation we were all feeling of the UEFA Euro against England.
CHANG: Poor Alcaraz. OK.
MACIAS: Yes.
CHANG: So tell us about Euro cup. Spain beat England 2-1. How awesome of a game was this to watch from Seville?
MACIAS: Well, the game itself, I didn't think it was great, actually. We've seen better games at this tournament.
CHANG: OK.
MACIAS: But it was still exciting. Spain scored first early in the second half. England tied, and we were mentally preparing for the extra time. Spain scored again minutes before the end of the game. England had a clear chance to tie a game, but Dani Olmo, a Spanish player, blocked the shot on goal with his head, which was basically inches away from crossing the line.
CHANG: Wow. OK, well, tell us more about the Spanish team 'cause I understand that there's a lot of talk about two star players, in particular - pretty young, children of immigrant parents, right?
MACIAS: Yes, I could talk about this all day, Ailsa, but we don't have all day.
(LAUGHTER)
CHANG: Unfortunately, no.
MACIAS: Yes. Lamine Yamal is 17 years old. We've heard about him all week. He comes from a working-class neighborhood in Mataro, near Barcelona. He became a star when he scored an incredible goal in the semifinal against France. The other player that everyone is watching is Nico Williams. He's 22 years old, from Pamplona, and he's the son of a couple from Ghana who emigrated to Spain 30 years ago through a long journey across several countries. Williams scored that first goal yesterday unlocking this final and claiming that he's as much of a star as Yamal. They're good friends, by the way. But to summarize, Ailsa, the fact that Yamal and Williams are on this team means that there's an entire generation of kids who were born in Spain to immigrant parents and who will be coming up in the ranks of every single sector of society, not just soccer. And it's a reality that some people in Spain do not like so much.
CHANG: Wait, give me an example. Like, how so?
MACIAS: So recently, I was riding the public bus in Seville, and when the bus stopped in front of a school, at the time when kids were coming out, a bunch of students came on board with their parents. So this woman standing next to me looked at another woman and said, you see? They're all foreigners. And that's how some people still see diversity in Spain. But those kids, the daughters and sons of Moroccan immigrants, Chinese immigrants, Latin American immigrants, they're the future of this country, and there's no stopping that.
CHANG: Indeed. That is Miguel Macias in Seville, Spain. Miguel, thank you so much.
MACIAS: Thank you, Ailsa.
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