World Cup 2022: Morocco and Portugal thrill as the quarter-final ties are set – live
Portugal #Portugal
Spain feel like the only team more cursed than England at penalty shootouts. They’ve only won one of the five they’ve faced in World Cups – at Ireland’s expense in 2002. Indeed, Spain has now won only three of its last 11 World Cup games since 2010.
There’s no immediate word on the future of coach Luis Enrique, who blamed himself for Spain’s exit yesterday.
“It’s my responsibility,” AP reports Enrique said, adding “I picked the first three penalty-takers”. He had previously said that he had asked each of his squad to practise 1,000 penalties with their club sides before the tournament.
The coach also said one of his regrets in Qatar was not to have used 30-year-old Pablo Sarabia more often during the tournament. Sarabia came on as a substitute just before the end of extra time “and he created two scoring occasions right away,” Enrique said. “It was my mistake not to have used him more. It wasn’t fair.”
Enrique did not say whether he would continue as Spain coach, saying he would “take some time to rest” before start making a decision about his future.
That may also have been the last time we see Sergio Busquets in a Span shirt. “Now the important thing is the team and not me,” said the 34-year-old Barcelona midfielder, who made his 17th World Cup appearance yesterday.
“We’ll pick ourselves up and use it as a learning experience,” Busquets said. “We’re in a good dynamic, with young people. This is going to make them stronger.”
Spain’s qualifying group for Euro 2024 features Norway, Scotland, Georgia and Cyprus, and the team will also be competing in the UEFA Nations League finals in the summer of 2023, where they will face one of Italy, Croatia or the Netherlands in the semi-finals.