“We are doing things very well. Both in the Euro and here they have kicked us out on penalties, they have not been able to kick us out in the 120. We will be doing something right”, explained Marcos Llorente in a mixed zone minutes after the elimination of the Spanish National Team was consummated of the World Cup in the penalty shootout against Morocco. The Atlético de Madrid player was one of the first to speak to the media and his arguments to analyze the hard and surprising defeat were going to be repeated throughout the night. And it is that the lack of self-criticism on the part of the players and the coach was going to be the general tone in their interventions before the press.
The penalties, the lottery that they entail and bad luck for not entering the ball were other reasons offered by the protagonists. “It’s always a heads or tails and tails have touched us,” snapped Sergio Busquets. Unai Simón, who saved a penalty that was of no use given the three failures in the National Team’s shots, assured that “in the penalty shootout they have been better than us”. “Penalties is what you have. You play a great game and you’re tied. They have been superior and have won the game”, declared Marcos Llorente. For his part, the coach used the cliché when talking about the failures in the penalty shootout: “Only those who take penalties fail.” Of course, Luis Enrique took the blame for the elimination and stated that “the penalties were my responsibility. I chose the first three.
Beyond the penalty shootout, there were no critical statements about the game played in the match against Morocco. And it is that the Selection shot on goal only on 2 occasions throughout the 120 minutes of the game, adding extra time. “We have tried by land, sea and air… Morocco has made an enormous physical effort. They have defended very well. It has cost us a lot to generate more. I feel very proud, I am satisfied with the team because they have embodied my idea of the game. They have done everything I have asked of them. This is life. There is no point in flagellating yourself anymore. I have no reproach for this group of players”, Luis Enrique argued. Rodri, another of the players who came out to show their faces after the defeat, assured that “football does not understand justice and does understand that the ball enters. We expected eleven guys behind like in all the games they play against us”.
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In addition to the failure to analyze the performance against Morocco that led to the elimination, there were several verbal exchanges between the protagonists and the media. It was Ferran Torres who faced the press before one of the questions: “You will say about playing without an offensive fang. We have not given away the first part. All teams lock us up. We have competed in all the matches. The results were not with us”, assured the FC Barcelona player. Luis Enrique also had his ups and downs with the press. “Have you seen the game? We missed the goal. But we have dominated the match against an opponent locked up and with a high level. We have not generated more chances. We have not been effective in the last few metres, but there are fewer spaces and less time”, the coach answered in the first question of the press conference.
After the elimination, it is time to make decisions by the RFEF. The renewal of Luis Enrique as national coach is not clear because in the Federation there are serious doubts with him. José Antonio Molina, RFEF sports director, also spoke to the media and placed the final decision in the next few days: “It won’t take long, but I don’t know how long. Both parties will decide what is best.”. Luis Enrique himself was not clear about his future either. “Next week I will speak with the president. You have to assimilate this disappointment and take it in the best way, ”she declared. Convulsive days are coming around the National Team.
