Euro 2020: Misfiring Alvaro Morata leaves Spain in some despair

As Alvaro Morata left the field in the 87th minute of Spain’s 1-1 draw against Poland on Saturday evening, a round of applause from the bench welcomed him. There was also a sprinkling of claps across the La Cartuja Stadium in Seville, the same venue where spectators jeered their home boy earlier in the week during Spain’s goalless stalemate with Sweden.

Much of the Spanish fans’ ire for the team’s possession-heavy yet lacklustre show in their Euro 2020 opener was directed towards Morata’s inability to score. While the 28-year-old forward did give his country a much-awaited goal against Poland, it did little to lift the gloomy clouds that hover over Spain at the moment.

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Robert Lewandowski, the Bayern Munich scoring machine who was fighting his own battle to find one for Poland, cancelled out Morata’s strike to hand the Spaniards their second successive draw in Group E. It leaves the 2008 and 2012 champions facing an almost must-win scenario against Slovakia on Wednesday to be assured of a spot in the next round.

This is the first time since 1996 that Spain have failed to win at least one of their first two games at the Euro, and the storyline in both games played out similarly for Spain—dominating the ball but lacking when it came to converting the numerous chances. Ironically, the team’s lone scorer so far in the tournament is at the centre of that shortcoming.

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Despite the criticism against Morata after the Sweden game in which the Juventus striker fluffed opportunities aplenty, Spain coach Luis Enrique gave a public vote of confidence to his main striker on the eve of the match against Poland, saying his team would be “Morata and 10 others”.

“It’s not only the number nine who has to score, it’s about the midfielders, the pivots, the wingers, everyone has to. We are an offensive team. I don’t know why I have to hold one player responsible,” Enrique added.

No wonder then that Morata ran straight to his coach and embraced him after scoring on Saturday. Incidentally, it was the lone change made by Enrique in the starting eleven that orchestrated the goal. Villarreal striker Gerard Moreno—who notched up 23 goals in the last La Liga season—was brought in place of Ferran Torres and created an instant impact by cutting in from the right flank and feeding the ball off his left foot for Morata to divert in (it was initially flagged offside, but corrected after VAR intervention).

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It didn’t take long for Spain’s frailties to be exposed again. Soon after Lewandowski headed in the equaliser in the 54th minute, Spain earned a penalty. Moreno’s shot struck the post and Morata slammed the rebound wide. The chances continued to keep coming and Morata’s hands continued to meet his head, including before walking off when his close-range shot was saved brilliantly by Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.

“It doesn’t matter that I scored. I’m only interested in winning,” Morata said after the game. “But I had to thank Luis Enrique for the confidence he’s shown in me. Life is like this—full of difficult moments. Now we just have to grit our teeth, keep going and get out of this group.”

To be fair, Morata has carried the bulk of Spain’s goal-scoring workload in the competition. He has scored four of the team’s last five goals in the Euro, and is only one behind Fernando Torres in the list of top scorers for Spain in the event. But the final touch from Morata, as indeed from the entire fowardline, appears to lack spark currently.

Enrique must find that from somewhere, and he has a few options to bring in fresher legs and minds. Mikel Oyarzabal, who scored 11 goals for Real Sociedad in the previous La Liga season, 18-year-old Pedri, Liverpool’s experienced Thiago Alcantara, whose absence from the starting eleven has surprised former England defender Rio Ferdinand, now a TV pundit, and Paris St. Germain’s Pablo Sarabia.

The bigger question though is whether Enrique will keep faith in the largely misfiring Morata for the crunch battle against Slovakia or do something he has resisted so far—change the personnel in front of the goal.

“I have the greatest urge to watch and analyse the match,” Enrique said of the Poland draw. “It hasn’t left us with the best feeling—perhaps we were the dominant team, but it wasn’t enough to force the victory.”

Victory is what he now desperately seeks against Slovakia.