Sloppy Spain Build Their Own Euro 2016 Mountain as They Swap Paths with Croatia

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at Internationaled.org

Published: June 22, 2016

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The net bulged and those behind it erupted in euphoria. In front of them, Spain's David De Gea sat on the turf in shock, his arm pointing despairingly at a team-mate, his head quickly dropping. 

On his back was No. 13, which seemed fitting: 13 seconds had just changed the entire tournament. 

At the other end to begin the sequence, Sergio Busquets had played in Aritz Aduriz on the edge of the Croatia penalty area. Immediately the Athletic Club Bilbao man had let go of a shot, but flying in from the left, Darijo Srna blocked it.

And then it happened. 

Marko Pjaca picked up the loose ball and flashed a direct pass to Nikola Kalinic. Driving at Gerard Pique and Sergio Ramos, the striker then fed the outstanding Ivan Perisic, who took one touch before riffling his shot past De Gea.

There it was: the bulge, the goal. Croatia 2-1 Spain. Thirteen seconds had changed everything.

If the games and days that had preceded this one at Euro 2016 had felt a little flat and routine, this was anything but.

Group D had always looked significant in the context of the draw, and as Perisic lined up his shot the stakes were immense. Awaiting the winner was the most gentle run to the final; awaiting the loser was Italy, and then possibly Germany and France after that. 

Already, AS had called it the "route of the death," but given the way they'd looked coming in, Spain had seemed almost certain to avoid it. But no. Perisic and Croatia have pushed them down that path, and Spain helped them do it. 



As La Roja exited the pitch at the Stade de Bordeaux on Tuesday, a feeling of complacency was as striking as the knowledge of the ramifications this result had for the rest of the tournament.

Inside seven minutes, Vicente del Bosque's men had gone ahead after a crisp team move was finished off by Cesc Fabregas and...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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