The Parken Arena in Copenhagen witnesses what will go down as one of the most exciting matches not just in the competition but in its history as former Champions Spain edged out Croatia 5-3.
Pedri’s own goal on the 20 minutes gave the Croats the lead but their lead was short-lived as Pablo Sarabia pounced on a rebound from Jose Gaya’s shot to restore parity 18 minutes later.
Caesar Azpilicueta’s 57th-minute header and Ferran Torres’ calm finish in the box put the match beyond the reach of Zlatko Dalic’s men as Spain led 3-1.
However, just when Luis Enrique’s men thought they are coasting home to victory, tragedy struck like a thunderbolt.
Substitute, Mislav Orsic was at the right place at the right time as he tucks in a rebound on the 86th minute to see if Spain will capitulate and they did eventually and as Orsic cross finds Pasalic, another substitute who rose highest and headed the ball into the net, 3-3 at 90 minutes!
Nevertheless, Alvaro Morata and Dani Olmo ensured that Croatia remains winless in a knockout tie at the Euros as both players scored in extra time to give Spain a famous 5-3 win.
Here are five things to note;
- Spain is the first side in European Championship history to score 5+ goals in consecutive matches.
- Mislav Orsic is the first substitute to both score and assists for Croatia in a single major tournament match (World Cup/Euros). Gamechanger.
- César Azpilicueta, who has scored his first-ever goal for Spain (27th cap), has become Spain’s oldest ever goalscorer at the European Championships (31y 304d).
- Alvaro Morata has scored his fifth goal at the European Championships, becoming Spain’s joint-highest scorer in the competition along with Fernando Torres.
- With eight goals scored, Croatia (3) and Spain (5) produced the second-highest-scoring match in European Championship history, after France v Yugoslavia in the 1960 semi-finals (9 – 5-4 to Yugoslavia). Entertaining.
