DBasia.news – The Spanish national team continued a positive period in Group F European Cup Qualification 2020. After a 2-1 win against Norway, La Furia Roja won 2-0 against Malta at the Ta’Qali National Stadium on Wednesday (27/3) early morning Western Indonesian Time.
Two Spanish winning goals were scored by Alvaro Morata (31 ‘and 73’). The two goals were quite special for Morata who found his sharpness back after going through a negative period at Chelsea.
Currently, the 26-year-old striker plays as a loan player at Atletico Madrid. Morata has scored 15 goals for Spain, more than any Spanish player since he appeared playing debut in November 2014.
“I am very happy to be here (the Spanish national team) and score, but the most important thing is to qualify for the Euro. This victory is very important,” said Morata, quoted from Sport-English.
“We know the match will be different this time (from Norway). Football has changed a lot and it’s difficult to come to play in a place like Malta, because of the defense of their meeting, but we returned home in a happy condition.
The match was also marked by the absence of Luis Enrique in accompanying his team due to family affairs. Robert Moreno, Enrique’s assistant, replaces his role as the leader for Spain and he knows how difficult it is to replace Enrique.
“Today is my hardest day as a professional, I hope this never happens again. When the news came out (about Enrique), people contacted me to say goodbye, but nothing could be congratulated,” Moreno said.
“These are all plans to play Luis, everything he has done for the players: the players helped me,” he continued.
Added by team captain, Sergio Ramos, the Spanish players played well in carrying out Enrique’s instructions even though the coach’s figure was not in the technical area.
“Even though the coach was absent, we prepared very well. The situation is difficult and the group feels the absence of the coach because of personal problems,” said Ramos.
“We dedicate this victory to him and his family, we have done what we have to do, in this team we are all family and all feel each other if there are personal problems,” he continued.
32-year-old Ramos also incised gold ink on his journey with the Spanish national team. The Real Madrid captain equaled Iker Casillas’s record through 121 wins with Spain (121 wins in 162 appearances).
In addition, Spain’s 83.5 percent ball possession over Malta was their highest record in competitive matches since last doing it in 2006. It was not separated from the huge gap between the quality differences of Spanish individuals over Malta.