Spain captain Alvaro Morata has sprained his knee in a freak accident after a security guard slipped and fell on him just minutes after his country qualified for the Euro 2024 final.
Spain were excellent tonight with Lamine Yamal shining in a 2-1 win over France in the Euro semi-final.
However, moments after the match had finished and the Spanish players had gathered for their celebrations, a security guard can be seen slipping on the surface of the pitch and crashing into Morata’s knee.
The Atletico Madrid striker winced in pain as his knee twisted on impact and was visibly upset as he left the pitch.
Whether Morata’s knee twist is serious remains to be seen, but it has certainly dampened Spain’s celebrations with their talisman potentially injured.
Spanish captain Alvaro Morata leaves the pitch after being substituted during the semi-final
After the final whistle, the striker roared with joy as his country won 2-1.
However, the celebration soon turned to heartbreak when a security guard slipped and injured the player.
The former Juventus and Chelsea striker appeared to be in pain after the collision.
This comes after Morata sparked a storm in the Spanish squad after threatening to quit the national team at the conclusion of the tournament over “senseless” criticism.
The striker previously admitted it would be “easier” for him to move abroad because of the poor treatment and laid bare the effect on his family, including his wife and four young children.
He also floated the idea of leaving Atletico Madrid just a week after apparently pledging his future to the club, saying that “in Spain there is no respect for anyone.”
His explosive interview with El Mundo caused a stir in his home country before the semi-final against France.
“It could be (my last tournament with Spain),” Morata told the outlet. “It’s a possibility that I don’t want to talk about too much, but it’s likely.”
The forward, who played for Real Madrid, Juventus and Chelsea before joining Atletico initially on loan in 2019, has endured a tense relationship with Spanish fans.
He had been whistled at during Spain’s Euro 2020 campaign and notably booed during a friendly against Brazil at the Bernabeu in March.
“I find it hard to be happy in Spain,” Morata said. “I’m definitely happier outside Spain. I’ve said that many times. Above all, because people respect me.”
‘In Spain there is no respect for anything or anyone.’
His teammates did not seem to be overly alarmed by the Spaniard’s injury.
Security staff apologized to the player whose knee appeared to have twisted.
Spain took a big step towards winning a record fourth European Championship trophy on Tuesday night after defeating France 2-1 at the Allianz Arena.
Luis de la Fuente’s side had a shaky start to the semi-final clash after going behind thanks to Randal Kolo Muani’s opener within the first 10 minutes.
But it took just 11 more minutes for La Roja to level the score, thanks to a masterful goal from 16-year-old Lamine Yamal.
Four minutes later, Dani Olmo put his side ahead and France had to chase down a team with a 100 per cent winning record in the competition so far, and despite a stronger second half littered with near-chances, they were unable to overturn the deficit.
Yamal made history at the European Championship by becoming the youngest goalscorer in the history of the competition.
The Spanish prodigy, aged just 16 years and 362 days, broke that record in style by scoring a stunning long-range strike against France.
Before slotting the ball into the top corner of Mike Maignan’s goal, Yamal dazzled French midfielder Adrien Rabiot with some superb footwork.
This came just a day after Rabiot told reporters that Yamal needed to improve his game to test Les Bleus.
Rabiot said of Yamal on Monday: “We saw that he was a player who knew how to handle pressure very well. He has a lot of qualities. He is able to play with his qualities both at club level and in major tournaments, without pressure.
Yamal had earlier sparked Spain’s comeback by scoring an incredible equaliser to become the youngest goalscorer in Euro history.
He celebrated in style after becoming the youngest goalscorer in the history of the European Championship
Mbappé was speechless and could not hide his admiration for Yamal’s wonderful goal
‘It’s always difficult to manage a semi-final in a tournament like this, but it will be up to us above all to put pressure on him, not let him get comfortable and show him that to play in a Euro final he will have to do much more than he has done so far.’
Yamal responded by writing on Instagram: “Move quietly. Speak only when it’s time to say checkmate.”
Before Yamal, Switzerland’s Johan Vonlanthen held the record for youngest goalscorer at a men’s European Championship.
Vonlanthen was 18 years and 141 days old when he scored at Euro 2004, also against France.
Meanwhile, Wayne Rooney, who scored for England against Switzerland 237 days after his 18th birthday in 2004, has dropped to third on the list.
Tuesday’s wonder goal took Yamal’s tally of senior international goals to four, having scored three in his previous 12 appearances for La Roja.
The winger plays for Barcelona and is a product of the club’s famous La Masia academy.
Alan Shearer, who was part of the BBC’s punditry team on Tuesday night, praised Yamal during the half-time break.
“It’s unbelievable,” Shearer said. “We talked about him at this tournament and we saw him at 16, to come and play at this level, under this scrutiny, and then to do that, it’s just outrageous. I mean, he shouldn’t even be up that late!”
Rio Ferdinand added: “For this young man to do unprecedented things at this age is ridiculous,” before Gary Lineker declared Yamal was “the next football superstar”.