Luis Enrique demanded that his players arrive in selection "
with at least a thousand penalties drawn
" with their clubs before the World Cup-2022 in anticipation of a penalty shootout, revealed the coach of Spain on Monday before the eighth of final against Morocco.
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“
I had warned them.
They had to arrive with at least a thousand penalties taken with their clubs.
There will surely be a knockout match where we will have to go through a penalty shootout
, ”warned Luis Enrique at a press conference on Monday.
“
It's not a lottery.
It's a moment of very high tension, where you have to keep your nerves, to hold your own against the pressure.
And the ball, you will hit it better if you have practiced.
It's a moment that defines a player
, ”continued the coach of La Roja.
“
The goalkeeper also has a big influence.
And we have three very good goalkeepers (Unai Simon, Robert Sanchez and David Raya, editor's note).
Any one of these three can hold
”, affirmed the “
Lucho
”.
Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bono is also a well-known goalkeeper in Spain, as he plays for Sevilla FC.
And the second goalkeeper of the Atlas Lions, Munir El Kajoui, was born in Melilla (Spanish enclave in Morocco), evolved in Spanish D2 and speaks fluent Spanish.
"
We trained for that here (in Doha, editor's note), and I see a lot of players who stay, at the end of our sessions, to take penalties
", supported the Spanish coach.
At the Euro, in the summer of 2021, La Roja had played two penalty shootouts: in the quarter-finals against Switzerland, they won (1-1, 4-2 on pens) with two great performances. 'Unai Simon and Yann Sommer.
But in the semis, she lost 1-1, 5-3 tab against the future Italian winners.