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Alvaro Morata was among those who scored in Spain’s 5-3 win over Croatia in the run-up to the Euro 2020 quarter-finals.
Spanish striker Alvaro Morata responded with strong criticism to help his team win 5-3 against Croatia after extra time on Monday to reach the Euro 2020 quarter-finals in a non-stop match with a story.
In what was probably the best game so far, Spain fell in the first half with Pedri’s goal from close range after half-time defender Unai Simon allowed a back pass.
But the three-time European champions have also found hope and are looking for a better way to win with goals from Pablo Sarabia, Cesar Azpilicueta and Ferran Torres.
Demonstrating the spirit that took them to the final of the World Cup, Croatia came back stunned with goals from Mislav Orsic in the 85th minute and Mario Pasalic’s header in extra time to force extra time.
Luis Enrique’s side showed victory and won the Morata victory in the 100th minute with a goal from Mikel Oyarzabal in the 103rd.
Spain held its first knockout celebration of major tournaments since winning Euro 2012 in the final quarter against France or Switzerland in St Petersburg on Friday.
“It was a very good game,” Luis Enrique said.
“I’ve had a lot of tough games in my career but this was one of the best games. Infinite things have happened to us but we know how to change things. Everyone has seen our united heart today. ”
Goalkeeper Azpilicueta added, “We have suffered a lot, it has been a long time since we have won the game and we have managed to finish with the World Cup participants.”
Croatia are returning home with their heads up but still hoping to win the Euros knocking game.
“ At the beginning of the overtime, we had them on ropes but we failed to get by with a good chance. Then, the game turned around and we didn’t have the energy to come back, ”said midfielder Luka Modric.
Coach Zlatko Dalic added, “We’ve done everything we can, back to 3-3, we were lucky, but we couldn’t win in the end.”
Morata responds to opponents
Morata was Spain’s stronghold amid a series of unsettled and derogatory matches from his supporters, which erupted last week in a 5-0 win over Slovakia.
His wife and children were threatened by his Seville supporters and complained that he was facing death threats before the game, prompting coach Luis Enrique to urge police to take action.
The loser has struggled to keep pace with goals in Real Madrid, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Juventus, claiming that the former coaches and players were weak.
But here, he showed iron when Spain’s confidence was down, directing Dani Olmo’s cross with one foot before exploding on the net to bring Spain back.
Reporter Oyarzabal passed a few minutes from another Olmo cross to add to Spain’s lead and this time Croatia did not respond.
The result saw them become the first team in the Euro to score five goals or more in a series of games, with Morata joining Fernando Torres as the top scorer in his country’s competition for five goals.
Pedri found an unimportant record: his 49-yard field goal was the longest goal in the Euro and the first ever competition outside the box.
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