Spain vs. South Korea: Score, Reaction from 2016 International Friendly
Nolito and Alvaro Morata both scored twice on Wednesday as Spain continued their preparations for the upcoming UEFA Euro 2016 tournament by easily beating South Korea 6-1.
David Silva opened the score with a lovely free-kick, and Cesc Fabregas and Nolito added their names to the scoresheet before half-time. Morata made it 4-0 shortly after the break, before Nolito struck again. Se-Jong Ju added a late consolation goal for the Koreans, and Morata put the final score on the board.
Spain will play one more friendly against Georgia before they start their Euro 2016 campaign.
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As shared by AS English, FC Porto star Iker Casillas started in goal for Spain, with Morata and Nolito leading the attack:
As expected, La Roja started the contest on the front foot, but they struggled with their passing. Per MisterChip (via ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan), the Koreans hadn't conceded a goal in well over 800 minutes coming into the match, and it quickly became clear why.
Spain pushed and prodded but found few openings, and the first chance fell to the Koreans, as Hector Bellerin was beaten out wide and Gerard Pique had to pay attention to clear the resulting cross.
Heung-Min Son should have given his team the lead after he was given far too much space inside the box, but he wildly blasted his shot wide of Casillas' goal.
On the other side of the pitch, Korean goalkeeper Jin-Hyeon Kim produced a fine save to deny Andres Iniesta, who fired Spain's first shot on goal.
As the half wore on, Spain improved, and Pique only barely missed the target with a powerful header. Morata thought he had opened the score after 15 minutes following a lovely through ball from Silva, but the flag went up to deny him his goal.
Kim made another good stop to keep out a shot from Bellerin, and a goal seemed inevitable at this point. It finally came after 30 minutes, courtesy of a perfect free-kick from Silva, who curled a shot past Kim via the crossbar.
Manchester City's official Twitter account was impressed:
Just two minutes later, La Roja doubled their lead, thanks to a dreadful error from the opposing stopper. Kim, who had been playing a fine match until that point, dropped a routine headed pass under pressure from Morata, and the Juventus man worked the ball to Fabregas, who easily converted in front of an open net.
Per Reuters' Richard Martin, it was a serious blunder from the goalkeeper:
Spain were now unleashed, and while Korea threatened on a handful of occasions, Casillas was barely worked. A quick counter-attack saw Cesar Azpilicueta set up Nolito with a delightful through ball, and the Celta Vigo man easily made it 3-0 shortly before half-time.
The final chance of the half fell to Korea, as Son played in Ui-Jo Hwang, but Pique tracked back well and applied enough pressure to make sure the forward couldn't put a good shot on goal.
Per Corrigan, things were running smoothly for Spain at half-time:
Spain's dominance continued into the second half, and Morata had another goal ruled out for offside after a smart ball from substitute Thiago Alcantara.
The Juventus man seemed desperate to get on the scoresheet, and he got his wish after 50 minutes, beating his marker on a corner before heading home from close range.
La Roja were toying with their opponents at this point, and Nolito bagged his second goal of the afternoon just a few minutes later. A rebound fell to Bellerin, and the Arsenal man squared the ball to his national team-mate for the easy finish.
Morata nearly had a second, as Pedro isolated him in front of the goalkeeper, but once again, the flag went up for offside. Replays suggested the Juventus man was clearly onside, however, and Morata was visibly frustrated with the decision.
Pedro could have picked out Nolito minutes later, but he opted to go for glory and was dispossessed before he could take a shot. He had better luck with his next attempt, but Kim made a fine diving save.
Korea were barely involved, but Tae-Hee Nam came close to opening the score for his team with a shot that flew just inches past the post. Hyun-Jun Suk also went close, per Corrigan:
Substitute Aritz Aduriz powered a shot over the bar, one of the few chances Spain mustered in the final 20 minutes. The pace of the match understandably dropped, and Korea even managed to pull a goal back, as some lovely passing resulted in Ju finding space for a shot.
There was still time for one more goal, as Aduriz played in Morata, who got to the ball ahead of Kim to put the final score on the board.
Spain will play one last friendly, against Georgia, on June 7. They'll play the Czech Republic, Turkey and Croatia during the group stages of Euro 2016.
Post-Match Reaction
Per AS (h/t Football Espana), Spain manager Vicente del Bosque said his team will enter the Euro 2016 tournament as favourites:
"We played fluently. We struggled in the first 20 minutes. The two goals that followed changed that and they were definitive. We’ve improved these past few days, we’re ready for the start of the Euros, but we’ve got very good opponents.
[...] We’re in good form. We’re favourites to win but there are a lot of candidates, it’s a different matter. We dream of being champions again. We’re the favourites and the defending champions. We have a dream, a hope, and we’ll see if it’s possible. But again, there are big rivals.
"
The fact Spain easily beat South Korea without their stars from Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid is promising for their Euro chances, although the Koreans are hardly world-beaters. The same can be said for Georgia, their next opponents, and La Roja are taking a chance entering the tournament without playing a top team.
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