Spain, Italy advance at Euro 2012

WARSAW, Poland ( AP) — Spain and Italy confirmed their heavyweight reputations at the European Championship on Monday, advancing to the quarterfinals after winning their final group matches.

Defending champion Spain sealed top spot in Group C by beating Croatia 1- 0 with a late goal by substitute Jesus Navas. Croatia's football association faces a UEFA charge on Tuesday over its fans' racist abuse of Italy forward Mario Balotelli last week.

Balotelli came off the bench to score Italy's second goal in a 2- 0 victory against Ireland, lifting the Azzurri above Croatia in the standings. Antonio Cassano had opened the scoring. Earlier, UEFA President Michel Platini said he was " not happy" with Croatia fans at Euro 2012.

Meanwhile, UEFA punished Denmark forward Nicklas Bendtner for revealing a sponsor's name on his underpants after scoring a goal in his team's second game.

The victories for Spain and Italy will send them from their Poland- based group to quarterfinals in Ukraine against either the co- host, England or France.

Spain will play on Saturday in Donetsk, and Italy goes to Kiev on Sunday.

Elaborate Spanish possession play failed to create many scoring chances in Gdansk, despite the World Cup winners knowing a 1- 0 loss would probably mean a ticket home.

" Our philosophy and style of play are good and we proved it in today's match," Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said.