Luis Enrique backs Alvaro Morata to take Spain through

Spain’s goal struggles

Spain have struggled so far in their Euro 2020 group drawing against both Sweden and Poland putting all the pressure on their final match against Slovakia.

If they want to progress they will need a victory from the match, with a second place finish looking more likely should Sweden beat Poland. However, they could top the group if Poland manage to overcome the Swedes and Luis Enrique’s side win their test.

The main struggle for the side has been the lack of goals. Gone are the days of the likes of David Villa and Fernando Torres being fed by Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta.

PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – JUNE 25: Andres Iniesta (L) of Spain celebrates scoring the second goal for his team with David Villa during the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Group H match between Chile and Spain at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on June 25, 2010 in Tshwane/Pretoria, South Africa. (Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)

Enrique has a quality problem on his hands with not a single Real Madrid player selected in his squad. Juventus’ Alvaro Morata and Villarreal’s Gerard Moreno are the main goalscorers with Manchester City’s Ferran Torres another outlet for goals.

However, only Morata has so far scored this tournament but has also faced criticism for some lacklustre performances.

Enrique backs Morata

Luis Enrique has however backed the former Chelsea striker and has highlighted a number of other players in the tournament he has outscored so far.

“With 41 games [for Spain], only David Villa Raul [Gonzalez] and [Fernando] Torres had scored more than him. In the other sides, only one player has scored more and that’s Harry Kane. Not even [Kylian] Mbappe, nor [Robert] Lewandowski, nor [Romelu] Lukaku,” he said.

LAS PALMAS, SPAIN – MAY 14: Barcelona coach Luis Enrique sports a stone island jacket during the La Liga match between UD Las Palmas and Barcelona at Estadio de Gran Canaria on May 14, 2017 in Las Palmas, Spain. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)

Enrique was bullish in his defence of Morata, saying that he and his coaches are seeing things that the journalist cannot.

“He’s doing well,” Luis Enrique said. “His body language is very good and I think he’s doing perfectly.

“We teach Alvaro things every week, and he’s been working with a smile and the right attitude. We have the utmost confidence in Morata.

“Coaches have information that journalists and fans don’t have. I’ve said things about hi to give him confidence, but also because he does a lot of important things for the team.”

The reaction

ESPN’s Sid Lowe wrote a piece explaining how aggressive the personal attacks from the stands were towards Morata.

But here’s the thing: while that might increase the fans’ frustration and the temptation to take it out on him, that’s not a reason to get on a player’s back like this. Quite the opposite. And to repeat: these weren’t just whistles. They were actually singing at him, telling him how bad he was. All that time away from grounds and you come back and do that to your own player? Seriously?

Graham Hunter said that the player can go ‘through phases where it’s almost as if he doesn’t want to do the simple thing and score.’

“Spain have difficulties in scoring crucial goals.

“Álvaro Morata has always been a clever striker, but he goes through phases where it’s almost as if he doesn’t want to do the simple thing and score.”@BumperGraham discusses his thoughts on Spain against Sweden.

— bet365 (@bet365) June 15, 2021

Should Morata be able to turn on his game against Slovakia and score, the rhetoric will surely quickly shift in the Spaniard’s favour.

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