Spain ousts Ronaldo and his companions outside the Nations League race
The Spanish national team joined the ranks of the teams qualified for
the semi-finals of the European Nations League, by defeating its Portuguese
host 1-0, on Tuesday, in the second group matches of the last sixth round.
La Roja, runners-up in the last edition of the continental competition,
owes the victory to its striker Alvaro Morata, who scored the only goal in the 88th minute.
Spain took the lead in the group from Portugal, the champion of the first
edition in 2019, after raising its score to 11 points, one point ahead of “Celecao”,
which only needed a draw to qualify, while Switzerland ranked third with
9 points by beating the Czech Republic 2-1.
Spain became the last team to qualify for the semi-finals after Croatia
(Group I), Italy (third) and the Netherlands (fourth), while Czech Republic
relegated to the second level, joining Austria, England and Wales.
At the Braga stadium in Portugal, home coach Fernando Santos made
the star Cristiano Ronaldo key, despite being widely criticized by
the Portuguese press for the modest level he showed during the 4-0 victory
over the Czech Republic, Saturday.
Joao Cancelo also returned to the defense on the right arcade after he missed
the previous match to be suspended, while Paris Saint-Germain full-back
Nuno Mendes replaced Mario Roy on the left arcade, and the duo Robin Diach
and Danilo Pereira maintained their positions in the heart of the defense.
Santos also retained the midfield trio of Ruben Neves, William Carvalho and
Bruno Fernandes, with a single change in attack, preferring Diogo Jota over
Rafael Leao on the left flank, while Bernardo Silva occupied the right flank.
In terms of the Spaniards, coach Luis Enrique made 7 changes to the squad that
lost 1-2 at home to Switzerland on Saturday, where only Pau Torres maintained
his position in defense, to play alongside Hugo Guillamon, and inserted Dani Carvajal
on the right side, while Jose Gaya played on the left side.
In the middle, the veteran Barcelona trio Sergio Busquets, 34, and the two young men,
Pedri and Gavi, were also replaced by Carlos Soler, Rodri and Koke.
Morata returned to the starting lineup to play alongside Ferran Torres on the right and
Pablo Sarabia on the left, while Marco Asensio sat on the bench.
Morata was the groom of the match, scoring the winning goal in the 88th minute after
turning a pass from Nico Williams into the net.
Spain ousts Ronaldo and his companions outside the Nations League race
