- John Manning
- Fri, Jun 17 2016
Two goals from Alvara Morata and another from his strike partner Nolito gave rampant Spain an emphatic 3-0 win over a poor Turkey side at the Allianz Riviera, Nice.
Sergio Ramos was booked in the first minute for a shoulder charge on Burak Yilmaz. The free-kick, on the right, was harmlessly overhit. Turkey flew into the tackles early on and Spain appeared to over play passes.
However, the reigning champions soon asserted themselves and their slick passing threatened to overrun the relatively disappointing and somewhat undisciplined Turkish side.
A shot by Alvaro Morata was saved low down by Volkan Babacan in the sixth minute. Gerard Pique should have scored with a free header from a corner on the left but his effort bounced up and over the bar.
There was some potential respite for the Turks when Hakan Calhanoglu sent a dipping free kick over but Spain soon resumed control. Nolito’s curling right footer finished right and wide. Neat Spanish interplay set up Nolito but he shot wide whilst under pressure in the box.
Spanish dominance had to tell and La Roja made the breakthrough in the 34th minute. A super cross from left by Nolito was guided home by Morato with a deft headed flick across the Turkish 'keeper and into the far corner.
Almost immediately, Nolito himself made it 2-0 when he shot past Babacan from eight yards after a terrible mistake by Mehmet Topal. The Fenerbahce player misheaded his attempted clearance into the path of the Spanish striker.
Less than three minutes after the interval Andres Iniesta released Jordi Alba with a fine through pass. Alba, who looked offside, squared for Morata to sidefoot home his second of the night. The goal stood and the Spaniards became the first team in Euro 2016 to score more than a brace in a single match. Practically every Spanish outfield player touched the ball in the build-up to Morata’s second goal.
Burak Yilmaz had a wonderful chance to pull one back but, after turning well, he sliced his left foot shot high and wide. In truth, the Turks offered little going forward.
David Silva’s dancing feet set up a shot on goal after another sublime pass from the authoritative Iniesta but it finished wide of the left hand post. There was to be no 100th appearance goal for the Manchester City player, who was replaced shortly after. Substitute Bruno Sobriano engineered himself a bit of space on the edge of the area and shot low but Babacan pushed it away to avoid number four.
After just two goals in the first pair of matches in Group D, the second round produced something of a goal fest with Spain, Croatia and the Czech Republic producing seven between them.
Fatih Terim couldn’t have been happy at the performance of his team. The Turkish fans in the ground certainly weren’t – showing derision for captain Arda Turan in particular. Turkey qualified for the finals as the best third place team winning five of their last seven matches. They kept four cleansheets in qualifying but never looked like keeping a cleansheet tonight.
David De Gea had little to do and maintained his record of not conceding in competitive matches for his country. Azpilicueta, on as a late substitute for Alba, foiled a rare Turkish attack as Nuri Sahin vainly sought a consolation. Sahin hesitated and then tried a hopeful shot with the outside of his foot. A follow up shot on the rebound went wide.
Sobriano had another chance after a late Nolito run into space. The shot didn’t trouble Balacan, however.
Imperious Spain are now qualified for the last-16 and have laid down a serious marker. The worrying aspect for prospective opponents is that Spain merely engaged top gear for about 15 minutes. Vicente del Bosque manages a team oozing class. 17 efforts on goal and nearly 600 passes tell their own story.
Spain: David De Gea, Juanfran, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos, Jordi Alba (Cesar Azpilicueta, 81), Cesc Fabregas (Koke, 71), Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, David Silva (Bruno Soriano, 64), Alvaro Morata, Nolito.
Subs not used: Iker Casillas, Marc Berta, Hector Bellerin, Sergio Rico, Mikel San Jose, Lucas Vazquez, Thiago Alcantara, Aritz Adriz.
Booked: S Ramos (2).
Turkey: Volkan Babacan, Gokhan Gonul, Mehmet Topal, Hakan Balta, Caner Erkin; Ozan Tufan, Selcuk Inan (Yunus Maili, 70), Oguzhan Ozyakub (Olcay Sahan, 62); Hakan Calhanoglu (Nuri Sahin, 46), Burak Yilmaz, Arda Turan.
Subs Not Used: Onur Kivrak, Harun Tekin, Semih Kaya, Ahmet Calik, Ismahil Koybasi, Sener Ozbayrakli, Cenk Tosun, Volkan Sen, Emre Mor.
Booked: B Yilmaz (9), Tufan (40).
Referee: Mirorad Mazic (Serbia).
Attendance: 30,000 (est.)
Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Andres Iniesta (Spain).
