Few days after struggling to 1-1 draw against Switzerland, Spain returned to winning ways against a less impressive Germany with a 6-0 victory in the UEFA Nations League clash in Seville.
The win took Spain to the top of the table and dethroned Germany to qualify for the finals of the UEFA Nations League.
Spain had three days ago scored a late equalizer against Switzerland in their last outing after Sergio Ramos missed two spot-kicks on a record night for being the most capped male footballer in Europe.
A very forgettable end to the year ❌#DieMannschaft #ESPGER 6-0 pic.twitter.com/fKNho08Jdo
— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) November 17, 2020
La Roja wasted no time in going ahead through Alvaro Morata, who started this time around in the 17th minute through a header.
It was the night of Manchester City winger Ferran Torres, who scored his first career hattrick for the hosts.
His fellow Man City mate, scored in between his goals with another header, before Mikel Oyarzabal put the icing on the cake minute to the end of the normal duration.
Such performance has now made Spain have 14 different goalscorers in the Nations League – more than any other nation.
This was a repeat of the Euro 2008 final that saw Morata opening the goals account. This is also Germany’s biggest since May 1931! (0-6 against Austria).
Meanwhile, the other group game between Ukraine and Switzerland was postponed due to six positive COVID-19 cases in the Ukrainian camp.
With Spain and France already in the finals, they will be joined by either Belgium or Denmark from Group A2 and Italy, the Netherlands or Poland from Group A1.
Spain exerts dominance over Germany with possession
Spain showed their intent by dominating from the off – having 70% possession and 23 shots. But the night belonged to 20-year-old Torres who stole the show.
He has been impressive with his fast, intelligent movement and eye for a goal in the opening weeks of the season. This showed that Manchester City may have got a bargain after only paying an initial £20m for his services.
He started the night with an assist for an incorrectly disallowed Morata goal, before he showed composure to set himself and volley home his first.
For his second, Torres demonstrated excellent temperament, controlled a cross that was behind him before slotting the ball underneath Manuel Neuer.
His third was a superb curler from the edge of the area to take his international tally to four goals.
In contrast, the man he technically replaced at City, Leroy Sane, was completely ineffective for the Germans.
Despite needing just a draw to qualify for the finals, Germany was high on confidence as they came into the game on the back of two wins and being unbeaten in 2020. But the Spaniards took control of Group A4 from them with a classical performance.
Summary of their under-par performance was the failure to register a single shot on target. Bayern Munich winger, Serge Gnabry came closest when his 22-yard effort rebounded off the bar in the dying embers of the game.
Spain v Germany: Teams line-ups
Spain
- 23Simón
- 20Roberto
- 15RamosSubstituted forGarcíaat 43’minutes
- 2Torres
- 14Gayà
- 16Rodri
- 18TorresSubstituted forAsensioat 73’minutes
- 8Koke
- 6CanalesSubstituted forRuizat 12’minutes
- 19OlmoSubstituted forMorenoat 73’minutes
- 7MorataSubstituted forOyarzabalat 73’minutes
Substitutes
- 1de Gea
- 3Cucurella
- 4Martínez
- 5Llorente
- 9Moreno
- 10Asensio
- 11Traoré
- 12García
- 13Arrizabalaga
- 17Ruiz
- 21Oyarzabal
- 22Merino
Germany
- 1Neuer
- 4Ginter
- 15SüleSubstituted forTahat 45’minutesBooked at 67mins
- 2KochBooked at 37mins
- 13Max
- 18GoretzkaSubstituted forNeuhausat 61’minutes
- 21Gündogan
- 8Kroos
- 19SanéSubstituted forWaldschmidtat 61’minutes
- 20Gnabry
- 9WernerSubstituted forHenrichsat 77’minutes
Substitutes
- 3Uduokhai
- 5Tah
- 6Neuhaus
- 7Amiri
- 10Brandt
- 11Waldschmidt
- 12Leno
- 14Henrichs
- 17Stark
- 22Trapp
- 23Dahoud
Referee:Andreas Ekberg
