Spain and their strikers: Around major tournaments in recent years, it’s been one of international football’s topics of intrigue, and ahead of Euro 2016, it’s no different. 

In Alvaro Morata and Aritz Aduriz, Spain enter this summer’s UEFA European Championship in France with an interesting blend of striking qualities. Morata is the likely first choice who brings pace and dynamism to La Roja’s front line, while Aduriz is the late bloomer of significant contrast who stands as a valuable alternative. 

The intrigue goes beyond their skill sets, though. Both Morata and Aduriz are relatively new to Vicente del Bosque’s side and thus are yet to ingrain themselves in La Roja’s approach. They’ve also been picked ahead of several prominent forwards: Diego Costa, the country’s highest-profile striker; Fernando Torres, who burst back into form in Atletico Madrid‘s late-season push; and Paco Alcacer, the natural fit and Spain’s leading scorer during qualifying. 

Again, then, there’s both fascination and uncertainty over Spain’s striking options. Can the speedy Morata link the attacks together? Can the more rugged Aduriz adapt to La Roja’s highly technical existence? Can they play together?

Here, we take an in-depth look at Spain’s striking options and how they can function within Del Bosque’s setup. 

  

Single-Striker System 

Alvaro Morata

Morata will almost certainly begin Euro 2016 as Spain’s first-choice striker in a system that might be presented on paper as a 4-1-4-1 but will function like a 4-3-3. 

In that, the 23-year-old will likely be flanked by Nolito and David Silva on the left and right, respectively; as group, they will give La Roja a nice blend of scoring and playmaking ability across the front line. 

In such a system, Morata will be tasked with dragging opposing defences out of shape with darting runs in and around the box, opening spaces for Nolito, Silva and the team’s midfielders. His pace and ability to change gears rapidly will be valuable in that respect, and it will also help Spain launch attacks more swiftly than they’ve done previously when possession is won in midfield.

In the Juventus forward, Spain also have an opportunist with a knack for scoring big goals: He struck the goal that won this year’s Coppa Italia final; he scored twice against Real Madrid in the 2014-15 UEFA Champions League semi-finals, and then again in the final against Barcelona; his stunning left-footed strike defeated Manchester City in last season’s edition; he’s scored in four separate derbies against Inter Milan; and there was that dazzling run and assist against Bayern Munich. 

In the crunch moments, Morata always seems to be there, putting away rebounds, firing home through a crowd and sweeping in balls at the back post. He’s not yet prolific, but his potential is immense, and he’s already shown signs of a potent relationship with Nolito in this Spanish side. 

There are issues, however. 

Though his technical ability is strong, the Real Madrid product is at his best in space—the sort of space Spain rarely see. 

As a possession-heavy outfit, La Roja are often confronted with tightly packed defences, and Morata is not the sort who will play with his back to goal and act as the fulcrum for others to play around. Instead, he likes to run at the opposition, and when he presents to his midfield it’s done with the intention of turning and dribbling into space:

It should be noted that Morata can create a yard or two of space for himself in the box with neat footwork while on the ball, but he won’t be a perfect fit for when Spain are trying to unpick a defence camped in its own penalty area. 

 

Aritz Aduriz

Aduriz is the ultimate late bloomer: At 35, he’s fresh off the finest season of his career in which he scored 32 goals for Athletic Bilbao in all competitions, and remarkably, he’s been getting better every year since turning 30. 

For a striker, it’s not supposed to work like that. 

The Basque’s late-career explosion is also significant for Spain ahead of Euro 2016, as he brings something very different to this La Roja side. 

Physical, aggressive and dominant in the air, the Athletic striker gives Del Bosque the option of playing a target man in the same system depicted above. With him in the box, Spain can take a different route, using crosses and longer balls, and feeding off the knock-downs. 

The use of Aduriz would also make a lot of a sense for Del Bosque on the occasions when wide men like Lucas Vazquez and Pedro are introduced. 

Vazquez in particular is a sideline-hugging right-winger who excels at beating his opponent and whipping in crosses. Throughout his tenure, Del Bosque has often valued such players for the way they contrast with his side’s plethora of central technicians, and the Real Madrid man has been brought into the squad for Euro 2016 for exactly that reason.

On Tuesday against Georgia, Vazquez and Aduriz put together a neat example of how it can work when the winger picked out the veteran striker from the right. If Aduriz’s powerful header had found the net instead of going inches wide, it would have been hailed as Spain’s Plan-B template. 

 

Two-Striker System

Spain have rarely used a pair of strikers together during Del Bosque’s tenure, but when considering systematic options, it’s worth noting how Morata and Aduriz fared when played alongside another striker domestically last season.

At Juventus, Morata was regularly introduced as a second-half substitute to play with Mario Mandzukic, and he scored numerous times doing so. At Athletic Bilbao, Aduriz struck up a wonderful partnership with Raul Garcia, who consistently pushed ahead from midfield to act as a second forward. 

At Euro 2016, Spain can do something similar, and in small moments they’ve already shown it can work, as explained in detail here at Bleacher Report.

During qualifying, Del Bosque used Costa and Alcacer together to good effect in a 4-0 win over Luxembourg, while against South Korea last week, Aduriz and Morata combined for the last 30 minutes and together crafted Spain’s sixth goal—a significant goal. 

Indeed, that strike from Morata was created by Aduriz’s gambling instincts as a striker. Having pushed into midfield, the Basque set off in a direct line for goal before Sergio Busquets’ pass had even reached an under-pressure Nolito to Aduriz’s left:

Whereas a midfielder would likely have looked to retain possession, Aduriz was bold. His more aggressive instincts as a striker took him straight toward goal, his desire being to either score or link directly with his partner in attack. 

Spain could benefit from more of that. That single-mindedness strikers possess is unique, and when opponents are enjoying success with tight and deep-sitting defences, the switch to a two-striker system is a potent option that Spain have available. 

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