Spain and Croatia faced off in an entertaining game in Bordeaux and Croatia shocked everyone with their performance , winning the game 2-1 with goals from Kalinic and Perisic after Morata had given Spain an early lead, here are 5 things we learnt as Croatia beat Spain.
1 Spain’s Unbeaten Euro run is over as Croatia beat Spain
Spain last lost a game in the European Championships against Portugal in 2004 , they followed up by winning 2 back to back titles without dropping a game . They seemed on course for another comfortable evening after Morata had put them up after 7 minutes and were dominating possession , Croatia somehow managed to overturn the tie and win the game, and in turn win the group. A lot has happened since Spain last lost a Euro game, and like all good streaks, this one had to end as well.
2 Spain will now face Italy
Having failed to finish top of their group , Spain will now face Italy in the round of 16. Last time’s runners up will now face off a vulnerable Spain side and given Antonio Conte’s defensive tactics , this one will be worth every penny.
3 Croatia are finally living up to their expectations
Croatia have had a great squad with several good players for several years now, but they somehow fail to deliver on the big stage , they performed well in all 3 games in the group and have now topped the group against the odds, they will now face one of the teams finishing 3rd in their group and will be expected to make the quarters.
4 Alvaro Morata is David Villa’s natural successor
Spain have missed a goal scorer ever since David Villa retired , and Fernando Torres lost his confidence. Alvaro morata not only wears the number once donned by legendary Raul and David Villa , he also displays the qualities they possessed. He has now scored 3 goals in as many games and his link up with Nolito will be key for Spain’s game against Italy.
5 Sergio Ramos should not be taking penalties
When it comes to penalties, Sergio Ramos isn’t the most trusted guy around, the Real Madrid captain may have some horrible memories taking penalties in numerous penalty shootouts for Madrid and it was a surprise for everyone after he stepped up to take the spot kick ahead of David Silva , Morata or maybe Iniesta. That miss proved costly as Croatia went on scored at the other end later in the game.
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