Following Spain’s World Cup elimination at the hands of Morocco on Tuesday, coach Luis Enrique stood by his team and his ideology.
Their elimination indicates that Spain has failed to go past the round of 16 stage three times in the World Cup since winning it in 2010.
In 120 minutes of dominance, Spain completed 1019 passes, but a conspicuous lack of creativity thwarted their efforts to score, forcing a penalty shootout in which Pablo Sarabia, Carlos Soler, and Sergio Busquets all missed.
Luis Enrique defended his playing philosophy and maintained that he was pleased with the way his squad performed.
“We dominated but lacked a goal,” he said. “We created chances, we were progressive but we met an opponent who performed to a high level.
“We could’ve created more and been more efficient but I was happy with my team. They represent me and represent my style and I can only praise them.
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“I am very happy with the profile of the players I have in my squad, I would not change them, I would go with them till the end.
“If anyone is responsible it’s me. This is sport, there is no point in punishing ourselves.”
While acknowledging Morocco’s overall performance with grace in loss, Luis Enrique saved a few words for Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
Sarabia struck the post after going first, while Bounou stopped Soler and Busquets’ tries. This left Madrid-born Achraf Hakimi to win it for Morocco and advance them to the quarterfinals for the first time.
“Bounou was the man of the match and he’s a top goalkeeper,” added the former Barcelona boss.
“He’s a great person as I know first hand. He was decisive in the shoot-out and deserved to be the man of the match.”
