Alvaro Morata does something he's not managed in three years as Spain star is hailed for his movement and 'tireless' work after goal during World Cup clash against Japan

Alvaro Morata moved himself to joint-top scorer of the World Cup as he headed Spain in front during their 2-1 loss against Japan.

The forward gave his country the lead in their crucial Group E clash against their opponents, with the 30-year-old showing his quality in Qatar.

Getty 4 Morata nodded La Roja in front on 11 minutes

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Getty 4 That’s now his third goal of these World Cup finals

Morata’s goal makes him the joint top scorer at this year’s World Cup, joining Marcus Rashford, Kylian Mbappe, Cody Gakpo and Enner Valencia on three.

The Atletico Madrid forward has now netted in three successive matches, which is the first time he’s managed that since November 2019.

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It was a great header from Morata, and first-half performance impressed former England star Stuart Pearce.

Pearce said on commentary for talkSPORT: “Morata has impressed me in these early stages, he’s worked tirelessly. He’s got his goal already and his movement is really good.”

Pearce added: “I’ve been really impressed with his movement. You can see him working across the line and dipping in like good strikers do. He was never going to miss from six yards, a towering header.”

Morata’s has nine goals at the World Cup and European Championships since 2016, which is twice as many as any other Spaniard during such a period of time.

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Getty 4 Spain outclassed their opponents in the first half

Getty 4 It was a different story after the break though

Despite Morata’s first half goal, Japan equalised shortly after the break through Ritsu Doan and soon grabbed a second just moments later thanks to Ao Tanaka’s finish, even though the ball looked like it went out of play beforehand.

Spain eventually finished second in Group E, with the dramatic turnaround seeing their opponents finish top of the standings.

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In the other match, Germany’s 4-2 win against Costa Rica was not enough to send them through to the round of 16, with Japan’s victory having huge ramifications on the four-time winners’ fate.

Japan face Croatia in the Round of 16 and Spain are preparing for their match against Morocco.

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