Alongside goalkeeper Unai Simon, the Real Sociedad man was the star of their Saint Petersburg triumph, and has now revealed all on his decisive finish
Spain forward Mikel Oyarzabal has opened up on being Spain’s penalty shootout hero against Switzerland in the Euro 2020 quarter-finals on Friday, stating that he was confident of finding his spot.
The Real Sociedad star struck the decisive spot-kick after extra-time was not enough to separate Luis Enrique’s La Roja from the 10-men Rossocrociati in a 1-1 draw in Saint Petersburg.
Unai Simon saved three Swiss efforts with a superb display between the posts to set up his team-mate’s winning finish, and now Oyarzabal has spoken out on what went through his mind ahead of striking the shot to book a semi-final at Wembley against Italy.
What’s been said?
“The path to the ball was a little longer than normal, because the ball was a little further away,” Oyarzabal told a pre-match press conference ahead of Tuesday’s game when asked about his winning kick.
“There, you think about what you are going to do. I was confident that things would go well – when the coach asked who wanted to shoot, I was willing to.”
On Simon’s heroics, he added: “I have known him for a long time, I have a good relationship with him. I consider myself a friend; he has worked hard to be here and it is a pleasure to share an experience like this with him.”
Winger wary of Azzurri threat
In something of a rarity for Spain at international tournaments, they enter their semi-final in north London as underdogs, after Italy turned their dark horse outsider tags around to emerge as genuine Euro 2020 favourites.
But while Roberto Mancini’s side may look to be on top, Oyarzabal feels that La Roja will be able to rise to the challenge, adding: “It is going to be a very difficult game.
“They have shown their level, they come at a great moment, but we do too and we have to focus on that. If we play right, we will have a better chance of winning.
“The most important thing is to be ourselves, as up to now, in all the games, we have given a great account of our skills. We have to continue to trust ourselves and I’m sure that this will go well.”
The bigger picture
Having survived two extra-time-enforced knockout games to make it to the last four, Spain will need to rediscover their finest form if they hope to beat the Azzurri, whose narrow last-16 win over Austria remains the only blip on their record, especially after victory over world number one Belgium.
Luis Enrique’s men will take heart heading into the clash however, knowing that they will be just 90 minutes away from a first major tournament final since they beat Italy in the showpiece game of Euro 2012 to claim their third consecutive major tournament crown.
Victory will tee up a last clash against either Denmark – enjoying a fairytale run after the trauma of Christian Eriksen’s collapse in their opening game – or hosts England, out to book a place in a first final since they won the 1966 World Cup on home turf over half-a-century ago.
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