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Spanish captain Sergio Ramos has been scooped another "Panenka" penalty to allow his team to win 2-1 at home against Norway on Saturday in his first qualifying match for the Euro. 2020, but this offer was far from convincing from Luis Enrique.
Spain made a good start to the match and took advantage at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia when Rodrigo Moreno scored the center of Jordi Alba's center in the 16th minute. He continued to dominate the net without letting out many chances.
Norway, who had barely attacked, equalized in the 65th minute with a perfect penalty kick from striker Joshua King, who swept the ball beyond David de Gea after Inigo Martinez brought Bjorn Johnsen to ground.
Spain got a kick six minutes later when Alvaro Morata got caught by Norwegian goalkeeper Rune Jarstein, who easily deceived Ramos by scoring the ball in the middle of the goal to score a "Panenka" "for the fifth time this season. eighth of his career.
"We started a new course and what better way to start than to defeat a team that made things very difficult for us despite the fact that we had the ball all the time," Ramos told reporters.
"We knew it was going to be tough, but we still played well and maybe we needed a bigger advantage at half-time, but we did a good job on the equalizer and the win will give us more confidence."
The Spanish players had spoken of the importance of starting the qualifying campaign well after their confidence was shaken by a dismal World Cup and a disappointing UEFA League of Nations finish.
Luis Enrique had appointed an experimental team for this match and the trip to Malta next Tuesday, but his composition was familiar, with the exception of the veteran. Jesus Navas, who made his national team debut since 2014.
Spain took a promising start in front of a crowd almost at its peak and achieved its breakthrough when the Barca's back halfback, Alba, played a brace with Marco Asensio to reduce the flank and give a simple center to Rodrigo.
The attackers dominated the possession of the ball, but they lacked a decisive advantage in attack. Morata missed a series of chances, making two saves against Jarstein and failing to hit the target with a free header.
Morata made up for those shortcomings by helping Spain regain its lead after King stabilized against the race, rushing on a deep ball and colliding with the desperate Jarstein, who was then fooled by the rush. Intrepid Ramos.
Asensio should have sealed the victory when his goal was played, but his flatring attempt sent the ball over the bar.
Norway forced Spain to return to their zone in injury time, but never seemed to find another equalizer.
Spain joined Malta and Sweden with three points in Group F after these teams also won a 2-1 victory in their opening match.
Luis Enrique said his team should have scored more but was satisfied with the performance.
"We have to appreciate all the positive things we've done today, I think we deserved to win 5-1 or 6-1, but football goals are the only thing that matters," he said. he declares.
"I am happy with everything, the attitude, the way we played after working a lot all week and creating opportunities against a team that defended itself in its half of the field. It is unfortunate that we conceded the penalty but we found a solution realized that if you want to win, you have to suffer.
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