Euro 2020: Spain hold nerve, enter quarters
It was the second-highest scoring game in the history of the European Championship, trailing only Yugoslavia's 5-4 win over France in 1960.
Copenhagen: Spain first gifted Croatia a bizarre own-goal, then threw away a late 3-1 lead. Alvaro Morata made sure it didn’t matter in the end.
Morata and Mikel Oyarzabal scored in extra time on Monday to give Spain a 5-3 win over Croatia and a place in the European Championship quarterfinals after a wildly entertaining see-saw match at Parken Stadium.
“I’ve lived through really intense matches as a player and manager but this one genuinely had a bit of everything,” Spain coach Luis Enrique said.
It was the second-highest scoring game in the history of the European Championship, trailing only Yugoslavia’s 5-4 win over France in the opening game of the inaugural tournament in 1960.
And it had nearly as many momentum shifts as goals.
After Croatia midfielder Mario Pasalic equalized in injury time to cap an improbable late comeback, the much-maligned Morata scored what proved the winner in the 100th minute.
The Spain striker controlled a cross with one deft touch and then sent a rising shot past goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic for his second goal of the tournament.
Oyarzabal doubled the lead three minutes later, receiving a pass in the middle of the area and holding off a defender before scoring.
Morata had received a torrent of online abuse — including death threats — after a string of misses during the group stage. But his fierce finish from a tight angle proved decisive on Monday.
Spain had been knocked out in the round of 16 in its previous two tournaments but netted five goals for a second straight game after a slow start with two draws. The Spanish will play Switzerland in the quarterfinals on Friday in St. Petersburg. The Swiss beat World Cup champion France on penalties after also coming from 3-1 down in the final minutes.
Vroatia netted three goals for a second straight game but fell well short of replicating thier feat of reaching the World Cup final in 2018.
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