Spain 6-0 Germany: Ferran Torres hat-trick helps hosts reach Nations League finals

Manchester City winger Ferran Torres scored his first career hat-trick as Spain inflicted Germany’s biggest competitive defeat and joined France in the four-team Nations League finals.

Rodri made the triple with a guided header, and Torres hit a fourth before hitting the fifth.

Mikel Oyarzabal’s touch made it 6-0.

Spain and France will be joined by Belgium or Denmark from Group A2 and Italy, the Netherlands or Poland from Group A1.

Summer sale Torres shines

It was a match that Spain dominated from the start, with 70% possession and 23 shots, but it was Torres, 20, who stole the show.

His quick, smart movement and eye for goal have impressed in the opening weeks of the season, and his performance here reinforced the idea that Manchester City may have landed a bargain after paying just £ 20 million for his services.

His raw pace and tricks set up an incorrectly disallowed goal from Morata, before he showed the composure to get up and volley home for the first time.

His second returned to show excellent technique, as he controlled a center that was behind him before fitting under Manuel Neuer.

He saved the best for last when he huddled superbly from the edge of the box to bring his international tally to four goals.

His performance will have delighted fans in Manchester’s blue half, with the man he replaced at City, Leroy Sane, utterly ineffective for the Germans.

Low has a lot of work to do

Going into the game, Germany were undefeated in 2020 and were in control of Group A4.

They needed to avoid defeat to reach the final and while that situation can sometimes lead to confusion about how to play, they were below average throughout.

They failed to register a single shot on goal, with Serge Gnabry closing in as his 22-yard effort bounced off the bar in the dying moments.

It was a night full of questionable tactical decisions, as Chelsea striker Timo Werner played down the left, with Gnabry in the middle in an uninspiring performance in the first half.

Coach Joachim Low had the opportunity to rebuild the team after the elimination of the 2018 World Cup in the group stage, but with his team ranked 13th in the world, this performance suggests that he has some important work to do before of the reorganization of the European Championship next year.