A huge amount of criticism is being heaped on Spain. Morata: Let people say what they want. We are in a country where opinion is free

What looked like the most feasible group is now a nightmare for Spain. Only draws against Sweden and Poland have condemned Luis Enrique’s team to a provisional third place in the table with two points. Somewhat peculiarly, striker Álvaro Morata also took a stand against the criticism.

From 2008 to 2012, Spain ruled football in Europe and, by extension, the world. Everyone was afraid of this selection, a mutual duel meant almost 90 minutes of running without the ball. But the stars of this selection are gone, replaced by a new generation. But it hasn’t been very successful so far.

Coach Luis Enrique was already hugely criticised before the tournament for his nomination. For example, he left out captain and leader Sergio Ramos, Nacho, who had the season of his life, Iago Aspas, who had amazing numbers in La Liga (14+13), and Mario Hermoso from title-winning Atlético Madrid.

Further criticism has been heaped on the former Barcelona coach for his choice of line-up. Marcos Llorente, who also had the season of his life as an offensive midfielder (12+11) plays right-back. In the first game, the coach again left only Gerardo Moreno, the Villarreal goal scorer, on the bench. Pablo Sarabia, who is definitely not in the best form, is coming into the game regularly. And there is much more.

In Spain, football is a religion. “La Furia Roja”, as the Spanish national team is called, is a huge passion for Spaniards. But when things go wrong, the response is extreme. Both from the media and the fans.

The biggest wave of criticism after the first match was directed at Álvaro Morata, who missed a chance against Sweden. According to many, he is not the number 1 striker for the national team, but Luis Enrique still has a lot of confidence in him. He repaid him with a goal against Poland, but the 1-1 draw put paid to all that. And the criticism hasn’t stopped, quite the opposite.

“Let people say what they want. If I had to worry about what people say… Imagine that. Let them say what they want. We’re in a country where having an opinion is free and easy, so let them say what they want. We will try to give it our all,” Morata surprised with his honesty in his post-match interview.

Spain thus stands on the precipice after 0:0 draws with Sweden and 1:1 with Poland. If they don’t beat Slovakia in their last game, they may well be out of the tournament. And that would cause a huge uproar in a country of almost 50 million people.

What resonates most in Iberia is the absence of a leader. The Spanish have a very good football team, but they are all “nice, quiet boys”. What is missing is someone who could stir the team up, either with words or a sharper slip. Enrique had one such captain in the squad but chose not to nominate him. And Sergio Ramos is now only watching the tournament on TV.

Source: Marca, AS Diario