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Among the scorers Alvaro Morata, Spain beat Croatia 5-3 after extra time to advance to the quarter-finals of Euro 2020.
Spanish striker Alvaro Morata responded sharply with criticism as he helped his team win 5-3 against Croatia on Monday after extra time to reach the quarter-finals of the 2020 Euro Cup, in a breathtaking breath full of stories.
This could have been the best game so far, with Spain backing off in the first half near Pedri’s goal when goalkeeper Unai Simon let him pass from behind.
The three-time European champions regained their composure and were on their way to a comfortable victory with goals from Pablo Sarabia, Cesar Azpilicueta and Ferran Torres.
Showing the spirit that led him to the final of the World Cup, Croatia made an amazing comeback with goals from Mislav Orsic in the 85th minute and a header from Mario Pasalic to force a long extra time.
Luis Enrique’s team showed great character and Morata prevailed with a great goal in the 100th minute and a goal by Mikel Oyarzabal in the 103rd.
Spain won the first round of a major tournament since winning the 2012 European Championship on Friday to form a quarter-final against France or Switzerland in St. Petersburg.
“It was an epic game,” Luis Enrique said.
“I’ve had some intense games in my career, but this has been one of the best. An infinite number of things happened to us but we knew how to turn it around. Everyone has seen our true team spirit today. ”
Goalkeeper Azpilicueta added: “We suffered a lot, it’s been a long time since we won a knockout and we finally managed to make it against the second-placed World Cup qualifier.”
Croatia go home with their heads held high but are still waiting to win a Euro Cup qualifier.
“At the start of extra time, we were on the ropes but we missed two good chances. Then the game turned around and we didn’t have the strength to return,” midfielder Luka Modric said.
Coach Zlatko Dalic added: “We did everything we could, we brought it to 3-3, we had some chances, but in the end we couldn’t win.”
Morata responds to criticism
Morata has been the focus of the Spanish campaign amid consistent performances and criticism from his fans, which made him look bad when he beat Slovakia 5-0 last week.
His wife and children were threatened by supporters in Seville and he complained that there were death threats before the match, prompting coach Luis Enrique to call for police action.
The striker has long struggled to achieve consistency in front of goal, a career that has taken him to Real Madrid, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Juventus, while former coaches and teammates have accused him of having a weak attitude.
But here, he showed steel when Spain’s confidence was on the ground, controlling a cross by Dani Olmo with his foot before bursting the roof of the net to put Spain ahead again.
Substitute Oyarzabal hit a few minutes from another cross from Olmo to increase Spain’s lead and this time Croatia had no response.
As a result, he became the first team in the European Championship to score five or more goals in a game, as he joined Morata Fernando Torres in being the best scorer in his country in five goals in the competition.
Pedri set a record he didn’t want: his goal from 49 yards was the longest goal in a single euro and he was out of first place in the tournament.
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