Euro 2020: Alvaro Morata opens up on Spain's semi-final exit to Italy

Spanish forward Alvaro Morata has taken to social media to reveal he is proud of his team's efforts despite losing to Italy in the semi-finals of Euro 2020.

In his Instagram post, Morata said that Spain deserved much more than just a semi-final. The Juventus forward also admitted that it was his dream to win Euro 2020. Morata's post read:

"This group deserved more, much more. Like the whole of Spain, it was also my dream, our dream. I am proud to have been part of this team. To those who have believed in us, Thank You. Football can be very hard."

Alvaro Morata had a roller coaster game against Italy. The 28-year-old scored Spain's equalizer but he missed the decisive penalty which saw Italy advance to the final of Euro 2020 at Spain's expense.

Throughout Euro 2020, Alvaro Morata has received a heap of criticism for missing valuable chances for Spain. Despite that, the Juventus man scored thrice in the tournament.

Meanwhile, Spain manager Luis Enrique has praised Alvaro Morata's performance by labeling him "brilliant." Following Spain's exit, Enrique said:

"He's gone through some tough times during this tournament but he was brilliant. He really created a lot of uncertainty in the Italian ranks, he scored of course, so he was excellent."

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Former stars praise Spain's performance in Euro 2020

Former heroes Gerard Pique and Sergio Ramos have praised Spain's performance at Euro 2020 despite a semi-final exit. Erstwhile Spain and Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos took to Twitter to applaud the valiant effort put in by Luis Enrique's side.

Ramos tweeted:

"Sad and unfair. It could not be, but you have made a whole country vibrate and get excited. Proud of our selection."

Triste e injusto. No ha podido ser, pero habéis hecho vibrar y emocionarse a todo un país. Orgulloso de nuestra Selección. #VamosEspaña

— Sergio Ramos (@SergioRamos) July 6, 2021

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has also heaped praise on the Spanish contingent at Euro 2020 by tweeting:

"I feel very proud. To reach the semi-finals of Euro 2020 has a lot of merit. I don’t think there is a better team in the competition. But penalty shootouts are sometimes very cruel."

Enorme torneo de la @SeFutbol! Es para sentirse muy orgulloso. Llegar a semifinales de la @EURO2020 tiene muchísimo mérito. No creo que haya selección mejor en la competición, pero las tandas de penaltis a veces son muy crueles. Mucho ánimo al equipo!

— Gerard Piqué (@3gerardpique) July 6, 2021

Despite starting the tournament slowly, Spain found another gear in their last group game, beating Slovakia 5-0. The two-time European champions netted five against Croatia in the Round of 16 before beating Switzerland in the quarterfinals. However, Italy were a much better side on the day.

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