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Morata Spain's hero in eight-goal thriller

Davis VanOpdorp
June 28, 2021

Alvaro Morata's Euro 2020 has consisted of missed chances and fan harassment towards his family. But when his country needed a lift in extra time against Croatia, the Spanish striker rose to the occasion.

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Alvaro Morata (left) takes a bow after scoring the game-deciding goal in extra time
Alvaro Morata (left) takes a bow after scoring the game-deciding goal in extra timeImage: Kiko Huesca/Agencia EFE/imago images

Croatia 3-5 Spain Copenhagen
(Pedri o.g. 20', Orsic 85', Pasalic 90'+2 — Sarabia 38', Azpilicueta 57', Torres 76', Morata 100', Oyarzabal 103')

If any goal was to silence Alvaro Morata's doubters at home, it would be the one he scored in extra time of Spain's last 16 win against Croatia.

Standing on the left side of the box, the Spanish striker calmly took down a cross from Dani Olmo with his right before smashing a shot past Croatia's Dominik Livakovic with his weaker left.

Alvaro Morata smashes the game winning goal with his weaker left to see Spain advance
Alvaro Morata smashes the game winning goal with his weaker left to see Spain advanceImage: Friedemann Vogel/REUTERS

The finish, which put Spain up 4-3 in extra time, must have been a moment of catharsis for Morata. Last week, he had revealed to a Spanish television station that his wife and children had been harassed by fans in Seville, where Spain played all three of their group games, after several missed chances from the striker.

Spain coach Luis Enrique had condemned the harassment ahead of Monday's tie, calling the abuse "a serious crime." Koke said he gave his teammate Morata "a big hug" in support.

So it was only fitting that the 28-year-old wound up being Spain's hero in a wild eight-goal extra-time win.

Alvaro Morata (left) receives a hug from Thiago (middle) after his extra-time goal
Alvaro Morata (left) receives a hug from Thiago (middle) after his extra-time goalImage: Stuart Franklin/REUTERS

Spain overcome own goal and late comeback

Euro 2020 hasn't been easy for the Spaniards, who are looking to make a deep run after underwhelming performances in the three major international tournaments since their Euro 2012 triumph.

After drawing their first two group games against Sweden and Poland, Enrique's side was widely criticized for missing clear cut chances and not doing much with their possession and their scoring chances. At least a 5-0 shellacking of Slovakia was enough to silence critics for the time being.

Their progress was in danger of unraveling quickly when they gifted Croatia the opening goal. Goalkeeper Unai Simon, whom Enrique has called upon to replace the injured David De Gea, mishandled a back pass from midfield and watched in dismay as the ball rolled across the goal line. The own goal was the ninth of Euro 2020, as many as all previous iterations of the tournament combined.

Unlike previous matches, however, Spain kept their poise. Pablo Sarabia equalized shortly before halftime, and Cesar Azpilicueta netted his first international goal to give the Spaniards the lead. Ferran Torres' goal appeared to put the nail in the coffin, but nothing seems to come that easy for Spain at this tournament.

Mislav Orsic punched a goal across the goal line to draw one back for the Croats, who were without veteran attacker Ivan Perisic due to a positive COVID-19 test. With Spain reeling, Mario Pasalic then added an equalizer in second half stoppage time to force extra time.

Morata's goal ended the embarassment for the Spaniards, and Olmo, who opted to play for Spain over Croatia, set up a goal from Mikel Oyarzabal with another pinpoint cross to put the game away for good.

Spain now face Switzerland in the quarterfinals on Friday. Though they still have a lot to prove, they remain one of the top contenders for the Euro 2020 title — especially if Morata continues his heroics.