Spain qualified for the round of 16 after demolishing a hapless Turkey side as both Nolito and Morata opened their respective accounts at the EUROs. Morata scored the first with a header from Nolito’s cross, with the latter scoring the second minutes later with a first-time finish.
Morata got Spain’s third just after the restart, tapping home into an empty net. Turkey tried to get a consolation but it was in vain as the Holders progressed to the round of 16.
Squads:
Spain: De Gea; Juanfran, Ramos, Pique, Alba; Busquets, Iniesta, Fabregas; Silva, Nolito, Morata.
Turkey: Volkan; Gökhan, Mehmet Topal, Balta, Caner; Ouzhan, Ozan Tufan; Selcuk, Çalhanolu, Arda Turan; Burak Ylmaz.
Vincente Del Bosque named the same side that defeated Czech Republic in the first game of the group. There were suggestions that Thiago would start ahead of Cesc Fabregas after his less than impressive performance but it wasn’t to be.
Turkey were facing a make or break situation. They needed at least a point to stay in the competition, whereas a loss would send them him and send Spain to the next round. Arda Turan their talisman had a bad day at the office against Croatia and needed to step up his game.
Spain earn just reward for brilliant attacking play
The game had a lively start to it as both teams were looking to take the initiative. Morata had the first shot of the match after Spain survived early Turkey pressure. He rode off a challenge, turned and shot with the keeper making a low save down to his right.
Turkey were definitely not hanging back. Turan had a shot in anger after swiveling past a few Spanish midfielders. A few minutes later Turkey won a free-kick in a good area and their specialist Hakan Calhanoglu who’s dipping effort just crept over the bar.
Nolito was the next to go close with a right-footed effort that was inches away from the far post. The Celta forward had a great chance again after Silva and Juanfran combined beautifully to set him up but he directed his effort wide.
But the striker made amends for his missed chances minutes later. With all the time in the world, Nolito produced a peach of a cross which landed perfectly on Morata’s head. All the Juventus man had to do was direct it into the goal giving his team the lead.
Turkey suffered a meltdown just a minute after the opening goal. Fabregas chipped one of his regulatory passes into the box in search of Nolito, Topal tried to intercept but his defensive header landed right at the feet of Nolito and he instinctively finished it first time into the bottom left corner giving them a 2-0 lead.
La Furia Roja continue domination over demoralized Turkey
The second half started in miserable fashion for Turkey. In the 48th minute, Iniesta released Jordi Alba with one of his magic balls, and the left back put it on a plate for Alvaro Morata to tap home his second and Spains’ third. Replays did show that Alba was in an offside position.
Burak Yilmaz had the chance to pull one back almost immediately but skewed his effort wide. Turkey started to threaten a lot more as Spain started to relax a little because of their 3 goal cushion but still did enough to prevent any real danger on their goal.
Silva had the chance to extend Spain’s lead even further. First, his shot was blocked by Balta and from the corner he found himself in almost the identical position as he turned and shot, once again not finding the back of the net.
The magisterial Silva was subbed off for Bruno Soriano. The Villarreal man had an immediate impact testing Volkan with a powerful low drive. La Furia Roja continued to play keep ball, turning it into a display of utter domination.
As the referee blew the final whistle Turkey players dropped to the ground in disappointment, but Spain completely deserved this win and are a real force to be reckoned with in this tournament,
