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If
Spain
had defenses to defend (apart from getting the ball very well and this kind of modern thing) this Monday, already in the round of 16 and already against a rival with a face and eyes like
Croatia
, it would have signed the victory with a scandalous result. The shake that Spain gave Croatia for 90 minutes was undeniable, very difficult to see at this stage of a great tournament. He passed over his opponent, whom he left in very little thing, although the resistance, commanded by a huge player like
Modric
, was moving in the Balkans. Spain continues to be able to win and lose with almost anyone, but now it has looked more like winning than losing. Suffering, it should be emphasized, was only a product, this time, of the ease that rivals find to, with very little, achieve a lot. This is a problem, and Spain should try to correct it from now on. However, having reached the
quarterfinals as he did
(a place unknown since 2012) supposes a mental impulse that is difficult to counteract, whoever the opponent is.
Spain left at halftime with the feeling that few more things can be done to win a game. With a possession, yesterday yes, designed only to hurt, the team constantly disarmed Croatia, incredulous without the ball, generous in the effort, but not used to submissions of that caliber. With the grass good, with just two changes compared to the last game (
Ferran Torres
returned in the place of
Gerard Moreno
and
Gayá
replaced
Jordi Alba
) and without the tension of being left out in the group stage in your own country, the team he let go and, yesterday yes, he played really well.
Declining
Perisic
contributed theirs to Spanish rule, because the few times that Croatia managed to
recover the ball, his three strikers were unable to keep it
.
And that
Eric Garcia
did everything possible to allow it.
The recent signing of Barça is one of those examples of defenses that do not seem like it, and that later, without him on the field, cost Spain an undeserved extension.
He has a very good ball output, but the main function of a defender, to defend, is a facet to improve.
Less corpulent than
Rebic
and
Petkovic
, he lost all the duels, and it was the only loophole through which
Dalic's
team could grow
, where
Modric and Kovacic
They do not find accompaniment when it comes to circulating.
Unai Simón's mistake
And then came the first tragedy.
A back ball that Pedri could have saved, as he was not particularly pressured, ended up in the rude mistake of
Unai Simón
, to which a point of relaxation and another of bad positioning to receive became a symbol, at that moment, of the without reason.
He did not control the ball and ... Anyway, the rest is known.
By that time, minute 20, Spain had already had a
heads-up
from
Koke
and an easy shot that
Morata
crashed into the involuntary hand of a defender.
Instead, Croatia had only passed the midfield once, and the play ended in the goalkeeper ... from Croatia!
thanks to a withdrawal and a wonderful pressure from Spain.
Knocked out by the blunder of its goalkeeper, the selection had a bad few minutes.
Another duel lost by Eric García allowed another chance for Croatia, emboldened until Spain calmed down, lowered the ball to the ground and started playing again.
And he played really well.
The play of the tie, in its beginning, is a manual on how to travel in confined spaces advancing meters.
Then, it is true, the thing turned into the usual carnage of rebounds and crashes that Spain almost always needs to score.
Goal and resurrection
Sarabia
did it
, changed bands a while before to look for the game from outside to inside.
The
Paris Saint Germain
footballer
, possibly the biggest novelty on the list, is completing a terrific Eurocup.
The goal did justice to Spain, already downhill in the game.
The second half affected what was seen in the first, with a total Spanish dominance, and as when the thing is facing, as is the case, everything comes out,
Azpilicueta
, a man called not to shine, received the ball from Unai Simón, For that moment already calmer, he crossed the middle of the field driving, something unusual in football and less so in this team, he played with Pedri, this with Ferran and the center of the winger caught the side in a race, which put Spain ahead. It was the logical consequence of what the statistics said, of what anyone saw on the field. The shot in the afternoon was sensed as a matter of time, which seemed to arrive in a genius of
Pau Torres
, who quickly took a free-kick towards
Ferran
. The winger took advantage of the carelessness of
Gvardiol
, who was drinking water, to make the third and close the game.
This is how
Luis Enrique
understood it
, who began to give rest to Koke, Gayá, with the twins in heaven, etc ...
Croatian reaction and Spanish extension
It happens that a blow to the grave of this team, and that together with that irreducible character of the Croats made that in two minutes everything seemed to be going to ruin.
Orsi and Pasalic
scored two goals in the first and second shots on goal for the Croats, whose resurrection, led by Modric, led to an unpredictable extension even for themselves.
The uprising lasted what it took Spain to calm down.
With
Busquets
cramped and very bad looking, the team, however, rebuilt and it was
Morata
, owner of a brutal match, who ended the Croatian resistance, unable to answer again.
Oyarzabal
closed a crazy afternoon with the fifth and Croatia, and Modric, could only walk.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more
Spain Soccer Team
Croatia National Soccer Team
sports
Euro 2020
Eurocup Luka Modric and the old wounds
This is how the round of 16 of the Eurocup remain
EurocupDani Olmo's footprint in Croatia: "He was a boy with his feet on the ground, every day he wanted to improve"
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