Croatia vs Spain: La Roja won the UEFA Nations League in dramatic manner, needing a penalty shootout to defeat an incredibly tough Croatia. Unai Simon produced two outstanding stops to deny the Croats any opportunity. Dani Carvajal converted the game-winning penalty following a tense 0-0 stalemate in which both sides missed massive chances, with tactical fights around the pitch finishing in level matches for 120 minutes.
ALso read: Croatia vs Spain: Chequered Ones LOOK for first international trophy with STRONGEST squad
Spain won their first UEFA Nations League title, defeating Croatia on penalties following a scoreless draw in extra time. Goalkeeper Unai Simon saved efforts from Lovro Majer and Bruno Petkovic, and Dani Carvajal scored the game-winning penalty kick with a panenka strike to break Spain’s 11-year trophy drought.
The Spanish triumph startled huge areas of the Rotterdam venue, which was packed with Croatian fans wanting to see their club finally win their first title after coming close on numerous occasions.
Croatia, World Cup finalists in 2018 and third-place finishers in Qatar last year, were expecting to win their first title but were unable to score throughout the 120-minute round. Despite Luka Modric’s best attempts, replacements Lovro Majer and Bruno Petkovic saw their penalties saved by Unai Simon in the shootout.
Also read: Croatia vs Spain: Las Rojas LOOKING to win silverware after 11 YEARS of waiting
Despite the whistles of the Croatian fans, who dominated the stadium in both quantity and volume, Spain opened promisingly. Gavi shot narrowly beyond the post after Alvaro Morata almost pounced on a Dominik Livakovic slip. Croatia, on the other hand, grew into the game and quickly found themselves exposing Spain’s high defensive line.
Many of their greatest chances came from the evergreen Modric, who twice crossed for the marauding Ivan Perisic to head towards goal, forcing Simon to save on both occasions. Croatia’s aggressive style was causing issues for Spain, while De la Fuente’s team was finding it increasingly difficult to break through their tight and well-drilled opponents.
Nacho produced a fantastic last-ditch challenge to deny Majer, while Marcelo Brozovic pushed Simon into a save. Dani Olmo shot wide when he could have scored, but the team kept their nerve in the shootout. Laporte blew a chance to win it by blasting his shot against the crossbar, and Carvajal capitalised on Petkovic’s blunder.
Croatia XI: Livakovic; Juranovic, Sutalo, Erlic, Perisic; Brozovic, Modric, Kovacic; Pasalic, Kramaric, Ivanusec
Spain XI: Unai Simon; Navas, Le Normand, Laporte, Alba; Rodri, Fabian Ruiz, Gavi; Asensio, Morata, Yeremy
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