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Attendance: 39,752
Spain national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Mar 23, 2019 at 7.45pm UK
 
Norway national football team

2-1

Rodrigo (16'), Ramos (71' pen.)
FT(HT: 1-0)
King (65' pen.)

Luis Enrique: Sergio Ramos "is a unique player in history"

Luis Enrique: Sergio Ramos
© Reuters
Ramos scored the winning penalty after Josh King had cancelled out Rodrigo's opener.

Luis Enrique praised match-winner Sergio Ramos after Spain battled to a 2-1 victory over Norway to open their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.

The hosts dominated possession and chances at the Mestalla but needed a 71st-minute penalty from Ramos after Norway had cancelled out Rodrigo's opener with their own spot-kick from Josh King.

Boss Enrique told TVE in comments reported by Marca: "I'm happy with everything, with the attitude and how we performed after our talk in training during the week.

"Maybe we weren't so effective and we must reinforce the confidence of our players because solidarity is fundamental.

"We did well and we knew we would have to suffer to win because Norway defend well, but we did that. Sergio Ramos did very well for us with his penalty. He is a unique player in history.

"We just have to be happy and value all of the positives. I'm confident we can improve with the support of the players.

"I think that we deserved to win 5-1 or 6-1, but football only rewards you for goals and we knew we had to be physically strong."

King rued the part Norway played in their own downfall, with a poor back pass playing in Alvaro Morata, who was scythed down by keeper Rune Jarstein.

The Bournemouth forward said on NFF TV: "We had a bit of luck in the first half when Spain created many chances, but we managed to keep it to 1-0 at the break.

"We knew we were getting chances and when we got back and got to 1-1, the most important thing was to keep the focus, but we were sloppy. When they scored the second goal, it was hard to come back again."

Manager Lars Lagerback praised his team's efforts, saying: "We met a better team today, but I will give praise to the players who fought the whole fight. We were too passive at first but got better in the second half.

"The team effort was very good and the guys fought for each other against one of the world's best teams."

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Alvaro Morata on the floor during the Premier League game between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea on December 5, 2018
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Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain870121
Q Scotland flag Scotland852117
3 Norway Norway832311
4 Georgia Georgia82248
5 Cyprus Cyprus80080

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France871022
Q Netherlands Netherlands860218
3 Greece Greece841313
4 Ireland Rep. Ireland82066
5 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar80080

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England862020
Q Italy Italy842214
3 Ukraine Ukraine842214
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia82248
5 Malta flag Malta80080

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Turkey Turkey852117
Q Croatia Croatia851216
3 Wales flag Wales833212
4 Armenia Armenia82248
5 Latvia Latvia81073

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Albania national flag Albania843115
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic843115
3 Poland Poland832311
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova824210
5 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands80262

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Belgium Belgium862020
Q Austria Austria861119
3 Sweden Sweden831410
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan82157
5 Estonia Estonia80171

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Hungary Hungary853018
Q Serbia Serbia842214
3 Montenegro Montenegro832311
4 Lithuania Lithuania81346
5 Bulgaria Bulgaria80444

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Denmark Denmark1071222
Q Slovenia Slovenia1071222
3 Finland Finland1060418
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan1060418
5 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland103079
6 San Marino flag San Marino1000100

Group I

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania1064022
Q Switzerland Switzerland1045117
3 Israel Israel1043315
4 Belarus Belarus1033412
5 Kosovo flag Kosovo1025311
6 Andorra flag Andorra100282

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal10100030
Q Slovakia Slovakia1071222
3 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg1052317
4 Iceland Iceland1031610
5 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina103079
6 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein1000100


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