Luis Enrique's faith sees Alvaro Morata move up Spain's scoring charts

Luis Enrique has regularly turned to Alvaro Morata during his tenure as Spain coach and the Atletico Madrid forward once again repaid him with the winning goal against Portugal on Wednesday in the UEFA Nations League as La Roja reached the Final Four.

It was a special night for Morata, who also scored in the 1-1 draw with Portugal earlier in the group. His strike in Braga this week took him to 27 international goals, moving him sixth in Spain's list of top scorers.

Morata is tied with Fernando Morientes. His next challenge is to overtake Fernando Hierro, who scored 29 goals. Then ahead of him still are David Silva, Fernando Torres, Raúl González and David Villa.

Centre of the debate

Morata is a striker that has always generated debate, but since Luis Enrique was appointed he has been a regular in the XI and his performances have got better and better.

Qatar 2022 is set to be his first World Cup, in fact, because he was left out of the squad in Russia four years ago. Coach at the time Julen Lopetegui, who himself departed before the tournament, was criticised for that decision.

Luis Enrique values Morata's work off the ball especially. He is a tireless pressure. His goals help, of course. He also scored the goal which helped La Roja beat Sweden to qualify for this year's World Cup.

And at the European Championships in 2021, he scored three important goals: the equaliser against Poland in the group stage, in the last 16 against Croatia and in the semifinal against Italy.

SPAIN'S TOP SCORERS:

1º David Villa 59

2º Raúl González 44

3º Fernando Torres 38

4º David Silva 35

5º Fernando Hierro 29

6º Álvaro Morata 27

6º Fernando Morientes 27

8º Emilio Butragueño 26

9º Alfredo Di Stéfano 23

9º Sergio Ramos 23