Spain were handed an injury scare over captain Alvaro Morata in an unfortunate incident that occurred immediately after their Euro 2024 semi-final win over France.
La Roja’s skipper was celebrating with the rest of his team-mates in front of their fans after a tense 2-1 victory in Munich that booked a place in Sunday’s showpiece, when what looked like a member of security personnel - initially wrongly identified on television coverage as a photographer - accidentally slipped and crashed into his right knee when trying to assist in the capture and removal of another pitch invader.
Morata looked in a lot of pain after the accidental collision that seemed to buckle his knee and appeared upset as he limped away with the person in question offering their profuse apologies.
It remains to be seen if the issue will make him a doubt for Sunday night, when Spain will face either England or the Netherlands in the Euro 2024 final at Berlin’s Olympiastadion.
Oh dear 😬
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 9, 2024
It appears a photographer slipped into Alvaro Morata and caught his knee in the post-match celebrations.#BBCEuros #Euro2024 #ESPFRA pic.twitter.com/6hTVEuM5uX
Head coach Luis de la Fuente expressed optimism that his captain had avoided injury during Tuesday night’s post-match press conference at the Allianz Arena.
“Alvaro, we have to wait and see tomorrow,” he told reporters. “We believe it's nothing. It hurts but we think it's nothing.”
Morata had initially been thought suspended for Tuesday’s blockbuster semi-final tie after he was erroneously said to have picked up his second yellow card of the tournament during a thrilling 2-1 extra-time win over hosts Germany in the last eight in Stuttgart on Friday.
However, he led the line as usual for De La Fuente’s side in Munich, providing an assist for Lamine Yamal’s sensational equaliser before Dani Olmo then quickly scored again to wipe out France’s early lead secured by a header from Randal Kolo Muani - their first goal from open play at the tournament.
Morata played 76 minutes in the end, replaced in the latter stages by Mikel Oyarzabal as Spain looked for fresh legs in midfield.
It had already been a tumultuous week for the Atletico Madrid striker, 31, who threatened to quit the national team in an explosive interview as he hit out at criticism from the media ahead of the meeting with France.
The pitch invader following the full-time whistle was not the only one to disrupt proceedings in Munich in a growing problem for football and wider sport in general, with the game also temporarily halted during the second half after a man burst onto the pitch and tried to take a selfie with France captain Kylian Mbappe before being tackled and removed by stewards.
