12.4°C Vancouver 12.4°C Vancouver
Jun 28, 2021 10:23 PM -
Spain defeated Croatia 5-3 after extra time in their Round of 16 clash in the ongoing Euro Cup in Copenhagen to progress to the quarter-finals on Monday.
Alvaro Morat scored in the 100th minute to take Spain 4-3 ahead and Mikel Oyarzabal netted one in the 103rd minute to get Spain a double lead. In the final few minutes, Croatia tried hard but were unable to score a goal as Spain got over the line.
In the first half, Spain struggled to string passes together and the strikers failed to get through Croatia's defense. Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon was unable to control a bouncing pass from Pedri which resulted in an own goal as Croatia took the lead.
However, Spain bounced back in style as Pablo Sarabia latched onto a rebound to drill home the equaliser from close range in the 38th minute.
In the second half, both teams started the game from 1-1 but Cesar Azpilicueta scored his first-ever goal for Spain as the side again got the lead in the 57th minute.
Croatia kept pressing hard for an equaliser. However, Ferran Torres fired a goal in the 76th minute to double Spain's advantage.
But Croatia bounced back in the dying minutes of the play as Mislav Orsic and Mario Pasalic scored to pull back their side and the match went to extra time after a six-goal thriller (3-3).
In the extra time, Spain scored two goals to ease into the quarter-finals of the Euro Cup after beating Croatia 5-3 on Monday.
