Slovakia 0-5 Spain
After a frustrating first two Euro 2020 games, Spain finally found their scoring touch at exactly the right time as they smashed Slovakia 5-0 to seal their spot in the round of 16.
Spain’s win saw them finish second behind Sweden in Group E and set them up for a round-of-16 clash with Croatia.
Some Spanish fans might have feared the worst after Alvaro Morata missed another penalty early in the match. But La Roja received a huge slice of fortune in the form of Martin Dubravka’s disastrous own goal, which gave them the lead.
Aymeric Laporte, Pablo Sarabia, and Ferran Torres grabbed three more goals before another Slovakia own goal put the finishing touches on a fantastic Spanish performance.
Highlights of the game
After back-to-back draws, Spain manager Luis Enrique made several changes to his starting lineup, bringing in Cesar Azpilicueta, Sergio Busquets, Pablo Sarabia, and Eric Garcia for this crucial match against Slovakia. Meanwhile, the much-maligned Alvaro Morata continued to lead the misfiring Spanish attack.
Much like in their first two matches, Spain quickly stamped their authority, and they were rewarded with a penalty after Koke was brought down in the box.
After Gerard Moreno’s miss against Poland, Morata stepped up to the spot this time around, but Slovakia keeper Martin Dubravka made a brilliant diving save to deny the Spanish striker.
Despite that setback, the Spanish were undeterred and continued to press forward. Pablo Sarabia was presented a great chance to score from point-blank range after a perfect cross by Pedri, but the PSG forward fluffed his finish.
Moments later, Pedri was on the receiving end of a very similar chance, but he too could not apply the finishing touch on Azpilicueta’s cross.
But the Spanish finally got their breakthrough on the half-hour mark, and it came through absolutely astonishing circumstances.
After Slovakia cheaply turned the ball over in their own third, Sarabia took a thunderous shot that struck the crossbar and went straight into the air. Dubravka seemingly tried to punch the ball over the bar, but he instead swiped the ball into the net for a disastrous own goal that will surely be a fixture in the Euro 2020 highlights.
Spain would then get their second goal in first-half stoppage time. Aymeric Laporte got his head on the end of a Gerard Moreno cross to score his first international goal for Spain in just his fourth cap.
And it took the Spanish 11 minutes into the second half to all but secure the victory. After a patented Spanish passing move, Jordi Alba crossed the ball into Sarabia, who slotted the ball into the bottom corner with his left foot.
Sarabia then turned provider for Spain’s fourth. He easily got in behind the Slovakian defence following a well-worked short corner and slid the ball in for Ferran Torres, who supplied a cheeky backheel flick finish.
And to put the finishing touches on a five-star Spain performance, Slovakia scored their second own goal of the match. Substitute Pau Torres’s header had been partially saved by Dubravka, but Juraj Kucka could not clear the ball off the line and instead kicked it into the net.
Key statistics
Much like in their first two matches, Spain once again were the superior side against Slovakia. While they didn’t go over 70 per cent possession this time around, they did have an overwhelming 19-3 advantage in total shots, with nine on target.
As SBOTOP had predicted in the preview of this match, Dani Olmo was dropped for this match, and his replacement – Pablo Sarabia – was simply sensational. He had four shots, including a goal and the shot which led to an own goal, as well as an assist.
Luis Enrique will be delighted with his side’s performance overall, but he will likely be concerned with his team’s ongoing penalty struggles. Morata’s miss is now the fifth straight penalty Spain have failed to convert.
What’s next?
Spain clinched second spot in Group E and will face Group D’s second-place finisher Croatia on Monday, June 28. The Euro 2020 betting odds will have the Spanish as significant favourites, and La Roja should fancy their chances of moving on to the quarter-finals. Despite their 3-1 win over Scotland, the Croatians have not exactly looked all that impressive in Euro 2020 thus far.
As for Slovakia, they have been knocked out of the tournament. They still finished third in the group with three points, but with a -5 goal difference, they were by far the worst of the six third-placed teams.
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