AM: Spain should fear the Round of 16 after a draw with Poland – Morata and Lewandowski record

The Polish team started the match with great force and managed to put pressure on the Spanish defense in the first minutes. But that changed very quickly, and as playing time increased, Spain became stronger.

Luis Enrique’s team tried to speed up soccer from his half and managed to push the Poles deep into their own half. It soon became clear which direction the game should mostly go here.

It should take until the 25th minute before the ball curls into the net behind Wojciech Szczesny. Gerard Moreno grabbed the ball and pulled it into the penalty area from the right flank. Alvaro Morata cleverly deceived Juventus’ Turin in front of opponent Bartosz Berezinski and fired Moreno’s cross to make the score 1-0. The line assistant initially indicated an offside, but after a VAR check, the hit was properly given.

The Spaniards continued after the goal and barely allowed the opponent to engage in duels. Poland often carelessly lost balls in their ranks and could not put pressure on the Spaniards.

Shortly before the end of the first half, Poland had the opportunity to equalize from nowhere, after Karol Swiderski failed to the post and Robert Lewandowski failed after Unai Simon (43.). So I went 1-0 up after 45 minutes in the locker room.

The second round was similar to the first, but the Polish team coached by Paulo Sousa was now more present and got into the duels earlier. This also led to counter chances for the Polish national team.

Poland also rewarded itself for this increase in performance. After a perfect cross from Kamel Jozuyak from the right side, Lewandowski climbed the highest area in the penalty area and headed it 1-1 (54th place). Compensation owed to Poland and thus opened everything up again in Seville.

Immediately after the goal there was a chance to renew the Spanish lead when Moreno crossed the ball into the penalty area and no Spaniard got the ball. When the situation seemed to have been resolved, there were loud protests from the Iberians, as Jacob Moder Moreno is said to have met too late during the replay.

Penalty: VAR consulted and agreement reached with the protesting Spaniards. Moreno climbed the offender and put the skin on the post. Morata also missed the goal by a difference (58).

Since then, the pace and quality of the game have deteriorated a bit, some changes were made and it seemed that the Spaniards gradually forgot to look at the scoreboard. This result will be the second draw of the second European Championship match.

In the closing stages, the Poles came back with a good counter-attack through Lewandowski and Przemyslaw Vranowski in front of Simon’s goal, but the Spanish defense were careful here.

In the end, it stayed at 1:1 between the two teams and so Poland can still hope to advance after bankruptcy in the opening match against Slovakia (1:2). Meanwhile, Spain remains in third place with two points, but still has all its chances for the Round of 16.

Game sounds:

Jordi Alba (Spain): “We deserved to win, just like in the first game. We lacked a bit of luck. We were so close to scoring goals. We worked hard throughout the team – the intensity was there and we know what we do we have to do in every moment.”

Luis Enrique (Spanish coach): “I loved the way Poland played. They created clear chances. Maybe we tried too hard and passed that instead of creating clear chances. It was a shame that we missed the penalty because it was in a very crucial moment.”

Paulo Sousa (Poland coach): “In the first half we lacked speed in defense to push the ball forward and get closer to the opponent’s goal. In the second half we had a lot of courage. Today our mentality was decisive.”

Tweet about the game:

It caught your attention: Spain is one of the favorites? Barely bearable!

Prior to the tournament, Spain was definitely one of the candidates for this year’s European Championship. After the goalless draw with Sweden and the 1-1 draw with Poland, you have to reconsider.

Not the fact that there are only two points to be booked after two matches in the European Championship, it is rather scary to have such inconsistent performances in this tournament. If you think that Spain ended the selection of Germany in the Nations League 6-0 in November 2020, then from a German point of view, you should not be afraid of another possible duel.

Game stats: 4 out of 5

With the goal against Poland, Alvaro Morata has now scored four of the last five goals at Furia Roja at the European Championship. The only player to score more goals for Spaniards in the European Championship is Fernando Torres.