Questions have been asked of Spain's Alvaro Morata after the striker missed a decisive penalty in a tense shootout that saw Italy progress to the Euro 2020 final.
Spain and Italy were unable to be split after 120-minutes of football at Wembley, as a 1-1 deadlock forced a nerve-wracking penalty shootout that saw a total of three attempts fail to hit the mark.
But it's Morata's admittedly limp attempt from the spot that has been put under the microscope, with Spain's third shot blocked by Italy's Gianluigi Donnarumma en route to Azzuri glory.
Morata had started his night from the bench after criticisms of his ability to finish in front of goal dogged his campaign, particularly having missed from the penalty spot earlier in the tournament.
Brought on in the dying stages of regulation time, Morata would sensationally silence his critics when he slotted home with class to save Spain from elimination by levelling the scores at 1-1.
But his trouble in front of goal would return in a heated penalty shootout, giving fuel to his detractors when he failed to keep the ledger even, having put his hand up to take a shot.
It raises questions over whether Morata should have even put himself forward for a penalty, or whether coach Luis Enrique should have made the tough call to not allow his striker an attempt – a difficult call considering Morata's goal was the only reason Spain were still in the match.
"I feel for Spain, especially Morata who has had a lot of criticism thrown his way at the beginning of the tournament for missing so many chances," Socceroos great John Aloisi said on the Optus Sport coverage.
"He missed a penalty earlier on in the tournament, came on and scored the equaliser, thinking is he going to take a penalty or isn't he? I didn't think he should have taken a penalty because he missed the earlier one, it was a big risk, but what does a coach do if he wants to take one?"
Former Danish star Thomas Sorensen said it was a difficult situation for both Morata, his coach and teammates.
"If Morata, puts his hands up, and the coach says no, it's on his mind and affects his stature in the team," Sorensen said.
"He'll look back on it and think, well maybe someone else should have done it. He showed he's lacking confidence because with the first step he's already 45 degrees with his body, he showed which way he went."
Socceroos legend Mark Schwarzer added: "He never looked confident, from the minute he walked up to the penalty spot, that was always the worry, Morata had missed earlier in the tournament too."
While Matildas great Alicia Ferguson believed Morata went from "hero to zero".
"Poor Morata, What a way to go from hero to zero in such a short amount of time, it was a weak penalty and he made it easy for Donnarumma," She said.
https://twitter.com/goal/status/1412535704270381058https://twitter.com/ESPNFC/status/1412531212887920643https://twitter.com/AdamCrafton_/status/1412528230079385602
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