The absence of Sergio Ramos in Luis Enrique’s call for the Euro Cup not only left a hole in the center of the rear and an evident lack of leadership and veteran within the national team. The coach left the specialist out from the penalty spot and the National Team is paying for it.
Spain has missed the two penalties it has taken since the tournament began. Beyond the concern about having missed two shots that, luckily, have not taken their toll, there is the normal mistrust for not having an expert from eleven meters who does not shake his pulse when the moment of truth arrives.
The National Team accumulates five consecutive missed penalties. The curse begins on the penultimate round of the Nations League against Switzerland. That day Sergio Ramos was not able to materialize two maximum penalties, in a match that Spain managed to tie at the end.
The losing streak continued in the match against Lithuania, which the U21 players were forced to play after the positive result from Busquets. This time it was Abel Ruiz who was failing from the fatal point. First Gerard Moreno , against Poland, and then Álvaro Morata , against Slovakia, have expanded the bad records.
The fact that there was a change of pitcher in both games shows that the National Team does not have a person in charge to carry out this mission. A priori, Gerard Moreno seems the best, since before sending his shot to the post against Poland he chained 13 penalties without failing in the last year and a half. He also scored in the penalty shootout in the Europa League final in which Villarreal toppled Manchester United .
Most missed penalties in history
The Spanish team has to its credit one of the records that no team wants to have. It is the team that, with 7, more penalties has failed in the entire history of the European Championship. Also the one that has released the most (12).
Kicks from the penalty spot seem decisive when it comes to the KO phase of the competition. A success or a mistake can change everything, even more so when in the event of a tie, the classification can be decided by executing throws from eleven meters. Curiously, how the World Cup in Russia had to be fired.
