By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
Spain joined hosts France and Italy in securing their
passage into the knockout stages of EURO 2016 before the final round of group
games.
They obliterated a dismal Turkey 3-0 in Nice to maintain
their maximum points’ total in Group D on Friday night. They require just a
draw from their final group game against Croatia on Tuesday to seal top spot.
Spain became the first team to score more than two goals in a
game and extended their unbeaten run at European Championship games to 13,
stretching back to their group stage exit at EURO 2004.
Sublime
move
Fatih Terim’s Turkey side kept Spain honest for the first 20
minutes but as soon as the first goal was scored, they folded pretty lamely.
Alvaro Morata boosted his confidence levels with two goals,
with the other coming from Nolito. Morata finished off one of the best team
goals we’ve seen in the competition.
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| Alvaro Morata finishes off a free-flowing move to seal Spain's victory |
Nine outfield players were involved in the build-up to
Spain’s third goal. In fact, only Gerard Pique did not feature in the sweeping
move that Morata finished off (pictured) from five yards out.
Andres Iniesta was heavily involved in this 22-pass move and
he played the final crucial ball into Jordi Alba, who provided the cross for
Morata’s second goal of the night. Iniesta was once again on another level to
everyone else on the field.
His touch was magnificent, his eye for the perfect pass was immaculate and it was almost a shock when he did give the ball away.
When that happened (very rarely too), he was straight into defensive mode,
desperate to win it back.
It was a devastating performance from the defending
champions that underlines they will not be giving up their trophy without a
fight. So far, they have been the standout team of EURO 2016.
Toothless
Turkey
The last time Terim led Turkey to a European Championship
finals, they reached the last four. On this evidence, their chances of
advancing to the knockout stages in France are slim to nil.
Their own fans turned on the team too, with skipper Arda
Turan being viciously booed by the supporters that are meant to idolise him
throughout the second half.
Playmaker Hakan Calhanoglu had another quiet game and he
didn’t even appear for the second half – replaced by Borussia Dortmund’s Nuri
Sahin.
They were toothless in attack and dire in defence. Turkey
did not register a shot on target and with UEFA charging their fans for
bringing flares into the stadium on Saturday; it was a couple of days that won’t be
fondly remembered for the Turkish.
Spain are now unbeaten against Turkey in 62 years of matches
between them. They will be tough to beat on this form as the competition
approaches its halfway stage.
My best
three players of the match
Man of the Match: Andres Iniesta (Spain)
Andres Iniesta was classy but then again, that is no great
surprise because he usually is. He made 99 passes which was the most of any
player on the field and playing a significant role in Spain’s sumptuous third
goal.
2nd: Alvaro Morata (Spain)
He lacked the finishing quality against the Czech Republic
but Alvaro Morata knew where the back of the net was in Nice. Two neat, tidy
finishes will do his belief the world of good. He will get more chances in this
competition. Morata is a Golden Boot contender if he carries on like this.
3rd: Nolito (Spain)
Nolito became the sixth different player in Euros history to
score and assist in the same game for Spain. He was effective on the flanks and
could be one of the wildcards of the tournament with his solid form at the
moment.
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