Taking the place of the absent Luis Enrique on Spain's bench for Tuesday's 2-0 win over Malta was the "worst" moment of assistant coach Robert Moreno's career.

Luis Enrique had to return home to attend a family emergency, with the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) confirming the situation earlier on Tuesday.

Moreno presided over a comfortable win and under any other circumstance it would have been a day to remember for the coach, as he took charge of Spain for the first team.

But Moreno said there was nothing to congratulate him for, instead keeping his thoughts with Luis Enrique.

"It's the worst day of my career," Moreno told Teledeporte. "We're going to try to get everything right, send him a lot of strength.

"People congratulated me, but there was nothing to congratulate. It is a circumstance that should not have happened.

"Knowing Luis Enrique, we had to be as professional as possible, to transmit what he does. I have not been Robert Moreno, I've been a representative of Luis Enrique."

Victory means Spain sit top of Group F with six points from two games.