Without saying a word or looking at the journalists or speaking with them, the Spanish national team players passed through the mixed area of the "Education City" stadium, which witnessed Morocco's historic qualification to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar.
And because they were forced to make a statement, Manchester City player Rodri Hernandez and Ferran Torres confronted the journalists and answered their questions after they left the final price against Morocco with a penalty shootout 3-0.
This result means that the "La Roja" players missed 3 kicks and failed to score any kick.
It is noteworthy that coach Luis Enrique involved Pablo Sarabia, the Paris St. and Barcelona.
Summary of the match between Morocco and Spain |
Morocco's national team qualifies for history at the expense of Spain
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And if it is normal to waste a penalty kick in such a tournament in which the pressure on the player is great, what Enrique said during the press conference that preceded the confrontation, in which he said, “For more than one year, and in many of the national team’s camps, I said to the players, You have a duty before the World Cup, which is the necessity to take at least 1,000 penalty kicks with your clubs."
We carried this statement as it is and put it to Rodri, who tried to evade the answer at first, then said, "We trained intensively on penalty kicks because it was expected that the original and extra time would end and we would go to decide the result with a penalty shootout."
He continued, "Those who took the first three kicks were among the best in training, but in a tournament like the World Cup and in knockout rounds, it is normal for players to waste penalty kicks."
In the context, Barcelona striker Torres confirmed that they "deserved to qualify because they presented a good level throughout the original and additional halves, but in the end, penalty kicks include several factors, foremost of which is luck."
And on the reasons for not scoring any penalty kicks, he told Al-Jazeera Net, "This is a possible occurrence, and we have to accept the situation. We trained a lot in executing penalty kicks and our level improved, but there are no exercises for pressure and tension."
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Despite winning the award for best player in the match, goalkeeper Yassin Bono, the Sevilla goalkeeper, deserves the title of "hero of the match" after saving two penalty shootouts from Busquets and Soler.
In turn, Abdel Samad Al-Zalzouli, the Barcelona player loaned to Osasuna, said, he smiled when we asked him the question and said in heavy Arabic, "The result is what decides, and Bono was a hero. He saved two penalties and we won the match."
In response to a question about the team he wishes to face in the quarter-finals, he said, "It is not important for us because we will prepare for any team, just as we beat Spain, we will face any team in the quarter-finals."
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The irony is that Ashraf Hakimi, the back of Paris Saint-Germain, who scored the decisive penalty shootout, was born in the Spanish capital, Madrid, and played with one of the teams in the city of Getafe near the Spanish capital.
And with the exit of Luis Enrique's men from the final price of the World Cup in Qatar, Spain will be eliminated from the final price for the second time in a row after the 2018 World Cup, and its team has failed to reach the quarter-finals since 2010.