Mueez Ajao
– Spain coach Luis Enrique hopes his players’ “homework” of practising 1,000 penalties will pay off against Morocco in the World Cup last 16.
– Enrique says he set his players the task over the last year in anticipation of facing spot-kicks in the knockout stages of the tournament in Qatar.
– Spain were eliminated on penalties by Italy in the semi-finals of last year’s Euros.
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– “I imagine that they have done their homework,” said Enrique.
– “Over a year ago, in one of the Spain camps, I told them they had to get here with at least 1,000 penalties taken,” Enrique said.
– “If you wait until getting here to practise penalties… [it won’t be enough].
– “It’s a moment of maximum tension, a time to show your nerve and that you can shoot the penalty in the way you have decided, if you have trained it a thousand times.
– “It says a lot about each player. It’s trainable, manageable, how you manage the tension. It’s increasingly less luck – the goalkeepers have more influence.
– “We have a very good goalkeeper, any of the three can do very well in this situation. Every time we finish training, I see a lot of players taking penalties.”
– Meanwhile, Morocco wing-back Achraf Hakimi says he thinks his side can “pull off another surprise” against Spain.
– The 24-year-old, who was born in the Spanish capital Madrid, could have been lining up for the opposition for his international career.
– Hakimi, who had been selected for Spain’s junior teams, said: “It is something unique playing for your country and especially now that we are making history.
– “It’s incredible to see how people are living it with us, and that energy transmits a lot to us and gives us strength to continue and look to do great things.”
– Hakimi was signed by Real Madrid aged seven, before breaking into the first team and then moving to Borussia Dortmund on loan. He has since won the Serie A title with Inter Milan and now plays for French giants Paris St-Germain.
– Hakimi says his side – who were denied a World Cup victory over Spain in the group stages four years ago when Iago Aspas scored an injury-time equaliser – “deserve a little respect”.
– “Four years of experience since have meant I’ve come with a more mature mentality,” he added.
– “Spain are a top-five team and always come to the World Cup to win but our coach has also taught us to have a winning mentality. It doesn’t matter who we are up against. We are going to play our way and try to beat them.
– “We finished first in the group and I think we deserve a little respect. I think that Spain know that and that they have to be a little afraid of us. Why can’t we pull off a surprise again?”
