Pain in Spain
Croatia defeats defending soccer champs at Euro 2016,
Croatia came from behind to beat two-time defending champion Spain 2-1 Tuesday and finish top of Group D at the European Championship in Bordeaux, France.
Ivan Perisic’s 87th minute goal ended Spain’s unbeaten run at a European Championship that stretched all the way back to 2004.
The defeat means Spain will now meet Italy in the round of 16 in a potentially mouth-watering match at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Monday — a repeat of the 2012 final Spain won 4-0.
Croatia will play one of the thirdplace teams in the northern French city of Lens on Saturday.
It had all started so well for Spain, when striker Alvaro Morata put his side ahead in the seventh minute, redirecting the ball into the net after a shot by midfielder Cesc Fabregas. Spain playmaker David Silva had split open the Croatia defence with a through-ball to create the chance.
Both teams had entered the match at the Stade the Bordeaux guaranteed a spot in the knockout stage. However, both teams wanted to win especially as the runner-up in the group meets Italy.
Spain was at full strength despite having already qualified, playing with the same 11 that won its first two group games.
“We had the game more or less controlled,” Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque said. “We had our own errors and then they punished us. We have to get over this, now we have to prepare well.”
The result ended Spain’s 14-game unbeaten streak at the European Championship over two tournaments. It also ended the team’s run of seven straight games without conceding a goal. The last time it had conceded was in a 1-1 draw against Italy in its first group match in the 2012 tournament, 734 minutes ago. TURKEY 2, CZECH REP. 0: Turkey rebounded from two losses at the European Championship to beat the Czech Republic on Tuesday and keep alive its chances of reaching the knockout stages from Group D.
With their team having failed to score in its defeats to Spain and Croatia, the Turkish fans celebrated with firecrackers and flares that landed on the pitch after the second goal.
Turkey must wait until the final group matches are played on Wednesday to discover whether it can advance as one of the four best third-place teams. POLAND 1, UKRAINE 0: Poland will play Switzerland in the last 16 with a big question hanging over its head: Has star striker Robert Lewandowski left his goal-scoring boots at home?
Poland cemented its first appearance in the tournament’s knockout stage with a 1-0 win in Marseille on Tuesday against already eliminated Group C opponent Ukraine.
Usually so clinical for Bayern Munich, and the top scorer in Euro 2016 qualifying with 13 goals, Lewandowski not only failed to find the net in Poland’s three group-stage matches, he also failed to have a single shot on target. GERMANY1, N. IRELAND 0: Germany pounded Northern Ireland on Tuesday but could only manage a 1-0 win that still ensured the world champion topped its group and advanced to the round of 16.