Spain end intrigue with 5-0 win
SEVILLE: A bizarre blunder by the goalkeeper helped Spain find their scoring touch at the European Championship. And it also helped them advance to the round of 16 of the Euro 2020 on Wednesday.
An embarrassing own-goal by goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka in the first half put Spain on the way to a 5-0 victory, and it came only minutes after the hosts had missed another penalty and wasted more scoring chances.
Dúbravka saved that early penalty kick from Álvaro Morata but then clumsily knocked the ball into his own net after it ricocheted high into the air off a shot by Pablo Sarabia. Aymeric Laporte added to Spain’s lead before halftime, and Sarabia, Ferran Torres and another owngoal in the second half made it five for “La Roja,” who had been facing elimination in front of their fans.
The victory allowed Spain to advance in second place in Group E with five points, two fewer than Sweden, who defeated Poland 3-2 in the other match. The result eliminated Slovakia, who needed a draw to ensure they moved into the
round of 16.
Poland out after loss in thriller
ST. PETERSBURG: Even with two goals, Robert Lewandowski still couldn’t stop Poland from an early exit the European Championship. The FIFA player of the year made amends for an
astounding early triple miss by scoring twice in the second half, but Viktor Claesson put in the winning goal in stoppage to give Sweden a 3-2 victory. Emil Forsberg scored twice for Sweden, who finished in first place in Group E and will next face a third-place finisher in Glasgow on Tuesday.
For Poland and Lewandowski, it’s another early exit from a major tournament. The Bayern Munich striker leaves Euro 2020 with three goals, his best haul at a World Cup or European Championship. But even his double against Sweden was overshadowed by an extraordinary sequence of events in the first half when he headed the ball against the crossbar twice in as many seconds. After the second one, the ball landed at the striker’s feet in front of goal but it got caught in between his legs and he still couldn’t score.
Forsberg had already scored by then, after 81 seconds for the second quickest goal in the tournament’s history. He added a second in the 59th on a counterattack. Poland needed a win to advance.