Spain coach Luis Enrique paid tribute to every player in his squad after Tuesday's incredible 6-0 win over Germany to reach the final four of the Uefa Nations League, which he said was just what they deserved for their efforts over the campaign.
"This victory belongs to every player, even those who didn't play," Luis Enrique told reporters after his side finished top of League A4 above Germany.
"It would be unfair to single anyone out because to do what we did, to press a team like Germany all over the pitch, you need every player from defence to attack to work hard."
Luck seemed to desert Spain in Saturday's 1-1 draw in Switzerland as they missed a slew of chances including two penalties, while they were unfortunate to lose 1-0 to Ukraine last month.
Yet everything clicked in an astonishing display against the 2014 World Cup winners, as midfielders Fabian Ruiz, Koke and Rodri dictated play and forward Ferran Torres bagged a hat-trick.
"This was one of those nights that happen very rarely, when everything goes exactly as planned. The players went out all fired up and did everything right. This is what you get when you combine quality and attitude," Luis Enrique added.
"We feel that we didn't deserve to lose a single game in this campaign. We scored 13 goals and only conceded three, the numbers speak for themselves.
"We feel immensely happy, this is a real boost for the players and we're going to enjoy this moment."
Germany coach Joachim Loew was at a loss to explain his side's humiliating which caused them to miss out on a place in the final four.
"I really don't know what happened to the team," Loew told reporters after Germany's heaviest defeat in 89 years and their worst in competitive football.
"We had hardly any chances and we didn't win a single individual battle out on the pitch."
Germany have been on a downward path since crashing out in the group stage at the 2018 World Cup and have won only three of their last eight internationals.
They went into Tuesday's decisive game top of League A4 after beating Ukraine 3-1 and a draw would have booked their place in the final four, but they fell three goals down by halftime and performed even worse in the second half.
"In the second half we tried to press them high up the pitch to score and get back into the game but Spain played far better than us, they were much faster and played with more precision," Loew added.
"We said before the game that we trusted in the players in our squad and that we were on the right track, but today we saw that we are not progressing as well as we had thought after our last few games."
Midfielder Serge Gnabry added: "Nothing worked for us tonight. We couldn't control them, they deserved to beat us as they did.
"Spain did everything well and we did nothing right. We don't know what level we're at right now. It's not normal to lose a match by so many goals."
- Reuters
Everything went to plan, says Luis Enrique after Spain blitz Germany
Image: Fran Santiago/Getty Images
Spain coach Luis Enrique paid tribute to every player in his squad after Tuesday's incredible 6-0 win over Germany to reach the final four of the Uefa Nations League, which he said was just what they deserved for their efforts over the campaign.
"This victory belongs to every player, even those who didn't play," Luis Enrique told reporters after his side finished top of League A4 above Germany.
"It would be unfair to single anyone out because to do what we did, to press a team like Germany all over the pitch, you need every player from defence to attack to work hard."
Luck seemed to desert Spain in Saturday's 1-1 draw in Switzerland as they missed a slew of chances including two penalties, while they were unfortunate to lose 1-0 to Ukraine last month.
Yet everything clicked in an astonishing display against the 2014 World Cup winners, as midfielders Fabian Ruiz, Koke and Rodri dictated play and forward Ferran Torres bagged a hat-trick.
"This was one of those nights that happen very rarely, when everything goes exactly as planned. The players went out all fired up and did everything right. This is what you get when you combine quality and attitude," Luis Enrique added.
"We feel that we didn't deserve to lose a single game in this campaign. We scored 13 goals and only conceded three, the numbers speak for themselves.
"We feel immensely happy, this is a real boost for the players and we're going to enjoy this moment."
Germany coach Joachim Loew was at a loss to explain his side's humiliating which caused them to miss out on a place in the final four.
"I really don't know what happened to the team," Loew told reporters after Germany's heaviest defeat in 89 years and their worst in competitive football.
"We had hardly any chances and we didn't win a single individual battle out on the pitch."
Germany have been on a downward path since crashing out in the group stage at the 2018 World Cup and have won only three of their last eight internationals.
They went into Tuesday's decisive game top of League A4 after beating Ukraine 3-1 and a draw would have booked their place in the final four, but they fell three goals down by halftime and performed even worse in the second half.
"In the second half we tried to press them high up the pitch to score and get back into the game but Spain played far better than us, they were much faster and played with more precision," Loew added.
"We said before the game that we trusted in the players in our squad and that we were on the right track, but today we saw that we are not progressing as well as we had thought after our last few games."
Midfielder Serge Gnabry added: "Nothing worked for us tonight. We couldn't control them, they deserved to beat us as they did.
"Spain did everything well and we did nothing right. We don't know what level we're at right now. It's not normal to lose a match by so many goals."
- Reuters
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