Magnificent seven: Morata opens Spain's Euro account

BERLIN — Three months after fans whistled Alvaro Morata, the striker got the ball rolling on Spain's Euro 2024 bid by scoring the opener in an impressive 3-0 win over Croatia on Saturday.

Spain's lack of an elite No 9 is often cited as one of the country's weak points, but the Atletico Madrid forward set up three-time champion La Roja for a perfect start in Berlin.

The former Juventus, Real Madrid and Chelsea forward has bounced around some of Europe's biggest sides without fully convincing or becoming the consistently lethal weapon that many hoped he could be.

Morata limped off after 67 minutes, but insisted after the game it was just a knock, and that he would be fit for Spain's second match in what was dubbed the 'group of death'.

"I am ready for Italy," he said, with Spain facing the Euro 2020 champion on Thursday in Gelsenkirchen.

After Spain dominated the early possession, it was just when Croatia began to play its way into the match that Morata pounced.

The forward, occasionally derided for spurning presentable opportunities, broke down the middle after the excellent Fabian Ruiz threaded a pass through for him from deep in midfield.

Morata stayed calm as he stared down Dominik Livakovic and, with his weaker left foot, clinically slid the ball past the Croatian goalkeeper.

"Fabian gave it to me — I said the other day that he's brilliant — he had a great game, and then he scored a great goal himself," said Morata, passing on the credit.

The Atletico striker's goal blew the game wide open after Croatia had kept it tightly closed, and Ruiz added the second just three minutes later, with Dani Carvajal grabbing another before the break.

Morata's strike made him the standalone fourth top Spanish international goalscorer of all-time with 36 goals, trailing David Villa on 59, and Raul and Fernando Torres with 44 and 38, respectively.

The striker also pulled level as the joint-third top Euros goalscorer, with Alan Shearer and Antoine Griezmann on seven — Cristiano Ronaldo has 14 and Michel Platini has nine.

With such strong tallies, it was surprising to some that Morata was derisively whistled during a 3-3 draw in a friendly with Brazil in March at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Of course, some Real Madrid fans took the chance to insult a rival at club level, but if Morata was an indisputable key player for Spain, they might not have been so dismissive.

"It hurts my soul that, in my country, they whistle a player from the national team.

"When I hear them whistle, I feel shame," said Spain coach Luis de la Fuente in March, but he was far happier in Berlin.

'You feel it'

Ahead of the clash with Croatia, the coach mentioned the team's job was to inspire national pride, saying there was a lack of it in the country.

Morata's strike put Spain on a strong footing on that front, even though around 10,000 La Roja fans were vastly outnumbered by their Croatian counterparts, who filled the majority of the Olympiastadion.

"The first thing is to thank the fans that came to support us," said Morata.

"You feel it when Spaniards want to back us and they come, it was important to start like that."

Even if Morata is not at the same world-class level as France forward Kylian Mbappe or England striker Harry Kane, he showed that, against stern opposition, he has what it takes to make the difference this summer.

Morata started the club season strongly with Atletico Madrid, but found the net just twice in his final 13 La Liga appearances — concerning form ahead of the Euros.

However, in a 5-1 rout of Northern Ireland in a pre-tournament friendly last week, Morata scored and looked significantly sharper, doing enough to stay ahead of Joselu, Mikel Oyarzabal and Ayoze Perez — De la Fuente's other central options.

It paid off for the forward and his coach against Croatia, and, despite a blow to his calf, Morata is raring to go against Italy.

AFP