Luis Enrique revealed he instructed his Spain squad to take 1,000 penalties each before the World Cup… only to crash out of the tournament after failing to score any of their spot-kicks against Morocco
Luis Enrique gave his Spain squad the homework of taking 1,000 penalties before the World Cup – only to see his side crash out of the tournament after missing all three of their spot-kicks against Morocco.
The Spain manager revealed on Monday that he told his team over a year ago to get their practice in ahead of Qatar – after they lost via a penalty shootout in the semi-finals of Euro 2020 to Italy.
Enrique’s instruction did not make a difference however, as Pablo Sarabia, Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets all failed to score as they once again were eliminated from the dreaded penalty shootout.
Spain failed to score any of their penalties as they crashed out of the World Cup to Morocco
Sergio Busquets (right) was one of three Spain players to miss from the penalty spot
Luis Enrique revealed during Spain’s pre-match press conference on Monday that he had given his players the homework of taking 1,000 penalties each before they got to Qatar
‘I imagine that they have done their homework,’ the Spain manager said in his pre-match press conference yesterday.
‘Over a year ago, in one of the Spain camps, I told them they had to get here with at least 1,000 penalties taken. If you wait until getting here to practise penalties… [it won’t be enough].
‘It’s a moment of maximum tension, a time to show your nerve and that you can shoot the penalty in the way you have decided, if you have trained it a thousand times. It says a lot about each player.
Enrique gave the instruction to players last year after they lost a shootout to Italy at Euro 2020
‘It’s trainable, manageable, how you manage the tension. It’s increasingly less luck – the goalkeepers have more influence.’
The game went to penalties after a goalless draw, and Enrique was left to watch on in frustration as Sarabia, Soler and Busquets all took poor spot-kicks.
Spain keeper Unai Simon meanwhile only managed to save one of Morocco’s penalties – from Badr Benoun – before Madrid-born Achraf Hakimi sealed the 3-0 victory in the shootout with an audacious panenka.
It was the fourth time Spain have been knocked out of the World Cup on penalties and the second in a row.
Enrique’s instructions didn’t pay-off as Spain failed to score any one of their penalties
‘We completely dominated the match, it’s a shame it went that way,’ Spain manager Luis Enrique told TVE.
‘It’s the most difficult thing, playing against a team like Morocco who are hard workers.
‘The penalties cost us, but I am very proud of the team and all the players. I am very sorry about the result but I congratulate Morocco.’
