COPENHAGEN: Croatia’s coach Zlatko Dalic acknowledged Croatia paid the price for slack defending following their exit from Euro 2020 in a 5-3 extra time defeat by Spain after a riveting fightback in their last 16 clash at Parken Stadium.
In the best game of the tournament so far, Spain fell behind in the first half to a Pedri own goal from near the halfway line after keeper Unai Simon let a backpass bobble past him.
But the three-times European champions recovered their poise and looked en route to a comfortable victory with goals from Pablo Sarabia, Cesar Azpilicueta and Ferran Torres.
Showing the spirit that took them to the last World Cup final, Croatia staged an astonishing comeback with goals from Mislav Orsic in the 85th minute and a Mario Pasalic header in added time to force the extra period.
“I am sad because we are out of the tournament and I feel sorry for our fantastic fans and the players who left it all out there on the pitch,” said Dalic. He said 19-year old left back Josko Gvardiol was at fault for two of Spain’s goals.
“They are a good team who will punish you for every mistake you make but the chance we missed in extra time when it was 3-3 was decisive,” added Dalic.
Captain Luka Modric conceded Croatia were on the back foot after taking the lead when Pedri’s back pass from near the halfway line bounced over goalkeeper Unai Simon’s foot and trickled into the net.
“We were fortunate to be 1-0 up but after that Spain dominated for an hour as we sat back too deep,” the 35-year old told Croatia’s HRT state broadcaster.
“We showed character to fight back late in the second half and had them on the ropes early into extra time, but after missing a pair of sitters the match went the other way and we didn’t have the strength to fight back again.”
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