Spain tore Germany to pieces on Tuesday evening at La Cartuja, putting a remarkable six goals past their visitors to send themselves into the Final Four of the Nations League.
La Roja will also go into the winter full of confidence. They had been playing well under Luis Enrique, developing a strong high-pressing style, but had been unable to score the goals that ultimately win games.
Una noche histórica que hará crecer a este equipo. ¡A la Final Four! 💪🏻🇪🇸
An historic night that will help us grow as a team. To the Final Four! 💪🇪🇦#VamosEspaña #NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/ZXexnXukeC
— Sergio Ramos (@SergioRamos) November 17, 2020
Ferran Torres scored a hat-trick, while Alvaro Morata, Rodri and Mikel Oyarzabal completed the rout for a Spain team in top form.
“Every player dreams of scoring a hat-trick,” Torres said after the game in comments carried by Diario AS.
“That I was able to do that here and help the team makes me very happy. I’m very happy with the way things are going and I want to continue like this.”
Torres joined Manchester City from Valencia this past close-season, and was making just his seventh appearance for La Roja. Before tonight, he had scored just one goal in Spanish red.
“From the first minute we took the initiative and didn’t let them play, taking them out of the game,” he said.
“We’re very excited about the team we have and the way things are going. Now we’re going to prepare for the Final Four in the best possible way.”
FT: 🇪🇸Spain 6-0 Germany🇩🇪
WOW.
Ferran Torres becomes the first Spanish player ever to score a hat-trick vs Germany, as Spain inflict Germany's heaviest ever official competitive defeat 😯
Spain will be present at next year's UEFA Nations League semi-finals 🏆#LLL
🧡🇪🇸⚽️ pic.twitter.com/YwtkhNzSYA— La Liga Lowdown 🧡🇪🇸⚽️ (@LaLigaLowdown) November 17, 2020
Morata opened the scoring on the night, and had a second goal ruled out for what seemed to be a marginal offside decision soon after. The Juventus striker was in bullish form post-game.
“I’d like to see what people say now,” Morata said. “We have to do our job. The other day [against Switzerland] we did it. We earned penalties and played a good game. I’d like to see what people say now.
“[It was] against a team that has won the European Championship and the World Cup, so you can’t put any buts. We’re all young and we’re all helping each other. You have to have faith [in us]. We have a European Championship ahead of us.”
Morata has been in excellent form for Juve so far this season. The Spanish striker has four goals in three Champions League games and two goals and two assists in four Serie A appearances.
“There will always be [criticism]. I want to go home and see what they say about us. This is the attitude of the team – this is the team and this is what we have to do. It’s a strong message for everyone, and we want to continue in this manner.”
6-0. Spain with TWENTY-THREE shots to Germany's two, ten on target to Germany's NONE. 70% possession. Total domination. pic.twitter.com/8rCI54Yrw0
— The Spanish Football Podcast (@tsf_podcast) November 17, 2020
Unai Simon, Athletic Club’s goalkeeper, enjoyed a particularly strong international break.
Luis Enrique started him between the sticks for all three games, suggesting that the 23 year-old Basque has taken over from David De Gea and Kepa Arrizabalaga as his number one.
“I didn’t expect to play all three games,” said Simon. “You can see that the coach trusts all his goalkeepers a lot, so let’s continue like this.
“There has always been debate as to who plays in goal. Kepa and David have more experience than me. Now we are all returning to our clubs and we will return to the national team with recharged batteries.”
The goalkeeper was also asked whether he sees himself starting in the forthcoming European Championships. “There’s a long way to go, you’ll have to ask Luis Enrique.”
Featured image courtesy of Fran Santiago.
