Scintillating from Spain! Alvaro Morata hat-trick and Lamine Yamal debut lead La Furia Roja to 7-1 victory over Georgia in EURO qualifier
- Spain get campaign on track in rout
- Lamine Yamal makes history – twice
- Captain Morata bags clinical hat-trick
TELL ME MORE: At just 16 years and 57 days old, Yamine Lamal made his debut from the bench and rounded off a dream debut by stroking home Spain's final goal as La Furia Roja thrashed Georgia 7-1 to breathe life into their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.
Spain made a fast start and could have been ahead on several occasions before Alvaro Morata made the breakthrough on 22 minutes. The onslaught continued with Spain 4-0 ahead by the break. Injuries to Dani Olmo and Marco Asensio dampened the mood, but they allowed Yamal to grab the headlines breaking Barcelona and Spain team-mate Gavi's records in the process.
✅ Spain's youngest ever player
— Viaplay Sports UK (@ViaplaySportsUK) September 8, 2023
✅ Spain's youngest ever scorer
Lamine Yamal, take a bow 🙇♂️
What an international debut this is for the 16-year-old 👏🇪🇸#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/3zkZEBIOYV
A NIGHT HE'LL NEVER FORGET 🇪🇸
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) September 8, 2023
HE'S ONLY 16 AND LAMINE YAMAL BECOMES SPAIN'S YOUNGEST-EVER GOALSCORER! pic.twitter.com/RmbwSA9N7B
THE MVP: Just like Spain themselves, Morata can often look tentative in front of goal but wearing the captain's armband he lead his side and his forward line decisively bagging his first-ever international hat-trick in clinical style before departing the field on 72 minutes for a rest.
THE BIG LOSER: Torrential rain greeted the players as they returned for the second half, but it would be very generous to use that as an excuse for the horrendous error from Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon which allowed Giorgi Chakvetadze's scuffed shot to squirm under his body. The goal sparked Georgia briefly to life giving Spain their most difficult moments of the night.
MATCH IN THREE PHOTOS:
WHAT NEXT SPAIN?: La Furia Roja will be hoping for a similarly emphatic performance when they host bottom-of-the group Cyprus in Granada on Tuesday evening as they continue their EURO qualifying journey.
MATCH RATING (OUT OF FIVE): ⭐⭐⭐⭐