19 June,2021 12:48 PM IST | Mumbai | Ronald Chettiar
Former Spain midfielder Luis Garcia
Former Spain midfielder Luis Garcia is confident La Roja will qualify for the knockouts despite a slow start by the young squad in the ongoing European Championship. The Luis Enrique-coached Spain were held to a goalless draw in their opening match on Tuesday and host Poland, who lost to Slovakia 1-2, in their second Group E match on Saturday.
"It is difficult to say that we [Spain] will not reach the quarter-finals. The team is good enough to reach there. I am positive about Spain going through the group stages and after that, it is about being together, rotation through the group and a little bit of luck," said Garcia during a virtual interaction recently.
The focus will be on striker Ãlvaro Morata, who was booed by fans after an insipid show against Sweden. But former Barcelona and Liverpool star Gracia insisted the Juventus attacker will rise to the occasion on Saturday.
"You need that focus, you have to be ready to perform at these stages, you have to give everything if you want to reach the finals. I can see Spain going through to the latter stages of the tournament," added Garcia, who is an expert panelist on the Sony TV show, Football Extra.
Spain players during a training session on the eve of their UEFA Euro 2020 Group E match against Poland on Friday. Pic/AFP
Spain's defence will be up against one of Europe's most lethal strikers - Robert Lewandowski - and it could be tough for its young defenders to stop the Polish captain in the absence of veteran centre-back Sergio Ramos, who is not part of this squad.
Garcia, who scored four goals in 20 appearances for Spain however, justified the exclusion of Ramos and said there is enough talent in the Spanish squad to fill in the shoes of the experienced defender.
"Ramos's ability to control the game from the back and his threat in set-pieces will be missed, but he has not played enough this year due to injuries. So Enrique was correct in leaving him out of the squad as he would not have been able to give his hundred per cent. On the other hand, [defenders] Pau Torres and Aymeric Laporte had a fantastic season and they have shown enough potential to adapt to situations," Garcia explained.
