Photo: Online.
FIFA World Cup-2010 champions Spain will take on Morocco in the knockout stage of the Qatar World Cup on Tuesday. This match will start at 9 pm Bangladesh time.
African country Morocco eliminated last year's finalists Croatia in the group stage. The match was a goalless draw. Beat Belgium 2-0. Besides, Morocco advanced to the knockout stage with a 2-1 win over Canada.
Meanwhile, Spanish coach Luis Enrique gave the team's footballers a special 'homework' before the World Cup. That's why the Spanish coach is confident, even if the match against Morocco ends in a tiebreak, they will have no problem winning.
What was that 'homework'? Enrique said, he allowed each footballer to practice a thousand penalties!
Morocco topped Croatia and Belgium from their group and advanced to the knockout stage. Spain lost again to Japan to finish second in the group ahead of Morocco. The fight is going to be held on Tuesday.
In the 2017 Euro Championship, Spain had to fight twice in tiebreaks. Spain defeated Switzerland in the quarter-finals and lost to Italy in the semi-finals. Enrique is desperate to avoid such a situation.
He said at the press conference on Monday, "I used to say one thing to the footballers when I went to the national camp a few years ago. You have a homework to do before the World Cup. You must score at least 1000 penalties for the club. It is not possible to practice taking penalties like this during national team practice."
The coach of Spain is not willing to accept that the tiebreaker means that the matter went into the hands of fate. "I don't think it's a lottery," Enrique said. If you practice well, your penalty taking skills will improve. Yes, I understand that taking pressure cannot be practiced in training. But if you practice properly, you can take that pressure in real time."
Enrique also said that goalkeepers also have a big role in tiebreaks. According to him, “it does not depend on luck. The goalkeeper plays the main role in the tiebreak. All three goalkeepers in my team are good at saving penalties."
Enrique gives 'B plus' to his team's performance in the group stage. He singled out 15 minutes of the Japan match, where the opposition "crushed" Spain. Enrique commented, “Our concept is clear. Not all opponents need to dominate for 90 minutes. You have to remember that in the World Cup you have to compete against the best teams, the best coaches."
"Mentally, Morocco are in a great place," Enrique said of last-16 rivals Morocco. They came out of a very tough group to be the best team."
However, the Spain coach is confident of doing well against Morocco. Enrique said, “I am happy with my team from what I have seen in training. I'm sure I'll make it to the next round."
In the last four World Cups, Spain has managed to reach the last sixteen only once. In the year 2010 when they became world champions. "I don't want to think about results," Enrique said. I want to think about things that I can control as a coach. I told that to the footballers of the team. Never mind the fruit. The results will be correct.”
No comments