Croatia 3-5 Spain: Player ratings as Spain beat Croatia in a thriller to advance to quarterfinals | UEFA Euro 2020
Spain put five past Croatia in a thrilling encounter at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen to advance to the quarterfinals of Euro 2020.
Spain started the game in dominant fashion, coming close to opening the scoring numerous times. However, the Spaniards failed to take advantage of their dominance.
The tide shifted quickly as Croatia took the lead in the 20th minute via a horrific Unai Simon mistake. The Spanish goalkeeper failed to control Pedri's back pass, only for the ball to roll into his own net.
After the goal, Spain continued to push and finally got their goal through Pablo Sarabia in the 38th minute.
Much of the second half followed a similar pattern. Ferran Torres assisted one and scored another in the 75th minute to put Spain 3-1 ahead. However, the Spanish celebrations were shortlived as Croatia scored twice in quick succession to take the match into extra time.
Morata then fired a brilliant volley past Dominik Livakovic from a tight angle to give Spain the lead in the 100th minute. Spain doubled their lead three minutes later as substitutes Mikel Oyarzabal and Dani Olmo combined for La Roja's fifth of the night.
Croatia continued to threaten for the rest of the game but failed to register another goal of their own. The game finished 5-3 after extra time in Spain's favor.
On that note, let's take a look at the player ratings from the game.
Croatia Player Ratings:
Dominik Livakovic - 7/10
Made a great save to deny Jose Gaya just before Sarabia's equalizer and kept Croatia alive with his outstanding shot-stopping for much of the match.
Josip Juranovic - 5/10
Failed to deal with Gaya down Croatia's right flank and looked shaky with the ball at his feet. Was rightly taken off for Josip Brekalo in the 73rd minute.
Domagoj Vida - 6/10
Made a brilliant block from a Morata header during the initial stages of the game. However, Vida was reckless in his positioning on a few occasions and failed to contain Spain's attackers.
Duje Caleta-Car - 6/10
Much like his centre-back partner, Caleta-Car didn't have a good game. He was rash in his positioning and overall play throughout the game, hardly surprising considering how good a form the Spanish attackers were in.
Josko Gvardiol - 5/10
It was an abysmal performance from the Croatian left-back. Gvardiol was caught out of position for Spain's third as he left Ferran Torres unmarked on the left-flank. Apart from that he was very poor with his distribution as well.
Luka Modric - 7/10
Modric saw plenty of the ball and dictated play comfortably with his intelligent passing. However, the midfielder failed to make a telling impact like most of his teammates.
Marcelo Brozovic - 5/10
Brozovic was one of Croatia's worst performers on the night. Although flawless with his passing game, the Inter Milan man failed to break up play and conceded a flurry of fouls.
Mateo Kovacic - 6/10
Easily Croatia's best midfielder in a game where they really struggled to express themselves. Withdrawn in the 79th minute to impart more energy and directness into the game.
Nikola Vlasic - 5/10
Guilty of missing a great chance in the first half, Vlasic failed to truly express himself in this game. It's fair to say it wasn't his day today.
Bruno Petkovic - 4/10
Didn't do anything of note for the 45 minutes he was on the pitch. Rightly substituted off for the more dynamic Andrej Kramaric at half-time.
Ante Rebic - 6/10
Made a few good runs here and there but failed to provide the influence he normally does at club level. Was substituted for Mislav Orsic as Croatia chased the game
Substitutes:
Andrej Kramaric - 6/10
Croatia looked much more potent once he came on.
Mislav Orsic - 7/10
Orsic was the protagonist for Croatia's comeback in normal time with a well-taken goal and an assist.
Josip Brekalo - 5/10
Helped provide a better build-up to Croatia's attacks.
Mario Pasalic - 7/10
Showed excellent presence of mind and commitment to head in the equalizer in injury time to take the game into extra time. Was flawless for much of the game since coming on.
Ante Budimir - 5/10
Didn't do anything of significance after replacing Kovacic in the 79th minute.
Luka Ivanusec - N/A
Came on in the 114th minute.