Agence France-Presse
Paris, June 22: Ivan Perisic’s last gasp winner gave Croatia a 2-1 win over Spain, Tuesday that condemned the defending European champions to a heavyweight last 16 clash against Italy while Germany claimed their place in the knockout rounds.
Mario Gomez struck the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Northern Ireland in Paris to ensure Joachim Loew’s men advance as Group C winners, with Poland through as runners-up following a 1-0 win over Ukraine.
Spain must now beat Italy in a rematch of the 2012 final to remain in contention for a record third successive European Championship title after sliding to defeat against Croatia in Bordeaux.
“It was not the desired route for us,” said Spain coach Vicente del Bosque. “That is football, it seemed like we had the game controlled, but in football you can’t take anything for granted. We will try to recover from this disappointment and prepare for Monday.”
Tuesday’s results also mean that Slovakia, Hungary and Northern Ireland are all guaranteed to reach the knockout stages. Spain just needed to avoid defeat to secure top spot in Group D.
Alvaro Morata grabbed a seventh minute goal that should have had Spain cruising towards a last 16 tie with a third-placed team from Group B, E or F.
Despite the absence of injured Real Madrid star Luka Modric, Croatia fought back. Nikola Kalinic flicked home an equaliser on the stroke of half time.
Spain captain Sergio Ramos then saw his second half penalty saved by Danijel Subasic, and it cost his side dearly as Perisic struck a winner three minutes from time to fire Croatia through in first place.
Turkey beat the Czech Republic 2-0 through goals from Burak Yilmaz and Ozan Tufan, to keep alive their very slim hopes of reaching the next round. They need Sweden and the Republic of Ireland to drop points against Belgium and Italy in Group E, Wednesday to advance as a best third-place team.
At Parc des Princes here, Gomez was thrust into Germany’s starting XI after Loew’s side laboured to a 0-0 draw against Poland last week. The on-loan Besiktas striker repaid his coach’s faith with the only goal.
Germany dominated, with Thomas Mueller, who set up Gomez’s goal, twice firing against the woodwork in the first half.
“We played well and we were convincing but we didn’t score nearly enough. That was really lacking today (Tuesday),” said defender Mats Hummels.
