Alvaro Morata breaks the silence after he failed to score from the spot against Italy, while Luis Enrique reveals the striker took the penalty kick despite an adductor problem.
The 28-year-old sent his penalty towards the right side during the shootouts between Italy and Spain, but Gigio Donnaruma guessed the right way to deny the Juventus forward who had already missed a penalty in the group stage game against Slovakia.
Jorginho then scored the winning penalty kick sending the Azzurri to the UEFA Euro 2020 Final.
Morata shared a message on Instagram after the game, but refused to apologise after his mistake from the spot.
“This group deserved more, like all Spain,” Morata wrote.
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“It was your dream and our dream, I can only say that I am proud to have been part of this group. Thanks to all those who believed in us. Football can be hard sometimes, come on Spain.”
Morata had been harshly criticised during the Euros and somebody went way too far sending threats to both the striker and his family.
Spain coach Luis Enrique defended Morata during a post-match press conference revealing the forward, who had come off the bench to score the equaliser during during regular time, took his penalty kick despite being injured.
“He had a problem at his adductor, but he wanted to take the penalty anyway and that says a lot about his personality.
“He has handled difficult situations in a great way, he created trouble for opponents and scored a goal,” the former Roma coach said.
🗣️ @LUISENRIQUE21: “En el deporte profesional hay que saber ganar y saber perder. Hay que felicitar al rival".
➡️ "Nos vamos a casa con la tranquilidad de haber estado entre las mejores selecciones".#SomosEspaña #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/yfm3wnfLzc
— Selección Española de Fútbol (@SEFutbol) July 6, 2021