The Netherlands have been one of the most obviously entertaining and thrilling sides to watch at Euro 2020 and the opening stages of their shock 2-0 last-16 defeat to the Czech Republic in Budapest was no exception.
Frank De Boer's side were rapid and relentless down the flanks and, by the time Denzel Dumfries peeled infield and charged into the centre-forward position to collect Daley Blind's raking pass, a bedraggled Czech backline might have found it easier to be marking all 50,000 inhabitants of the Scottish town with which the rampaging right wing-back shares a name.
Tomas Kalas managed to force Dumfries wide and made a vital, scampering challenge. There is entertainment in such last-ditch defending too, although it rarely looks much fun for the protagonist.
Seven minutes before half-time, it was impossible to ignore a towering man in orange who appeared to be deriving little enjoyment from what was unfolding.
Some worryingly passive Dutch defending let Lukas Masopust find Antonin Barak in the area. In flew Matthijs de Ligt with a goal-saving challenge. The Juventus centre-back howled at everyone within earshot. He was furious.
De Ligt the leader
At that moment, it felt like the 21-year-old was in the process of turning in a defining performance to quell the hum of criticism that has soundtracked the past two years of a career that still promises so much.
"De Ligt is the centre-back of our defence. He needs to become much more of a leader than he is now," Netherlands great Marco van Basten told the NOS channel in a curiously harsh criticism after De Ligt returned to help his side to a clean sheet against Austria following the chaotic 3-2 win over Ukraine.
"He went to Italy to learn how to defend more, but I think he didn't learn much there. He needs to lead the rest much more."
De Ligt left Ajax after their celebratory 2018-19 campaign already looking like a born leader. It was hard to imagine those credentials being questioned. But a transitional year at Juventus as Maurizio Sarri tried to implement a new style, followed by last season's ignominy of surrendering the Serie A title under Andrea Pirlo amounted to an unforgiving education in Italy's top flight.
Still, he managed to retain an admirably positive outlook.
"I'm really lucky as I'm playing with almost everybody I'd be watching if I was a young player," De Ligt told The Athletic midway through 2020-21.
"[Leonardo] Bonucci is really good in the build-up, so I talk to him about that and watch what he is doing. [Giorgio] Chiellini is really good at marking, so I'm trying to learn from him too.
"I play with [Virgil] Van Dijk [for the Netherlands]. In the end, though, it's so important that you develop your own game and don't start being a copycat of someone else."
Sunday's match, with Van Dijk a long-term absentee and the prospect of a charge for glory such as the one Bonucci is underpinning with Italy, looked like it might become the game where De Ligt stepped out of those considerable shadows.
De Ligt the scapegoat
As it was, his ill-timed stumble and handball to deny Patrik Schick a goalscoring opportunity – moments after Donyell Malen should have opened the scoring at the other end – engulfed the defender and his team-mates in a darkness they could not lift as the lights went out on their Euro 2020 bid.
"An experienced mature defender doesn't make the second mistake and lets the forward go on and score, because he doesn't leave his team with 10 men on the field," Gary Neville said on ITV after some horrid last-ditch defending that was no fun at all for the man involved.
De Ligt's red card makes him an obvious scapegoat. Everything changed when he went off. Save for the effervescent Dumfries charging forward to draw a yellow card from Vladimir Coufal, making a block to rival De Ligt's earlier effort to thwart Pavel Kaderabek and still causing havoc in the opposition half, there was little to recommend about how De Boer's men responded to adversity – their game management very much a minute-by-minute, reactive endeavour.
Tomas Holes' 68th-minute opener hastened the capitulation and the Golden Boot-chasing Schick put the result beyond doubt with his fourth of the tournament. The Netherlands were out, having not conceded a goal at any stage with De Ligt on the field.
He will not have wanted to perversely prove his worth in this fashion. De Ligt's tendency to find positives will be put to its biggest test after this shot at greatness slipped through his fingers because the ball did not.
Spain boss Luis Enrique has described the abuse received by Alvaro Morata as a "crime" and says it should be a matter for the police.
Morata has been the focus of attention since being jeered by his own fans during a pre-Euro 2020 friendly with Portugal after missing several opportunities.
He was then criticised for his displays in Spain's 0-0 draw with Sweden in their Group E opener and 1-1 draw with Poland, a game in which he scored but missed more chances.
The Juventus striker, whose loan from Atletico Madrid was extended for another season last week, then missed a penalty in Wednesday's 5-0 win against Slovakia, which saw Spain progress from their group in second place.
Morata revealed in an interview that he has received vicious messages on social media during the tournament, while his wife and children have also been targeted in public.
Luis Enrique has repeatedly leapt to the defence of Morata for his performances and is expected to stick with the 28-year-old for the last-16 tie with Croatia on Monday.
Speaking at a media conference, the Spain boss said: "The situation is so serious that it must be put in the hands of the police because it is a serious crime.
"Insulting Morata's relatives is a crime and I hope it is corrected outright."
Spain will hope to end a run of falling at the first hurdle in the knockouts of a major tournament when they face Croatia.
After winning Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012, La Roja were eliminated at this stage of both Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup.
Despite that, Luis Enrique said his side have no doubts about their ability to get past Croatia.
"I have had the same confidence since the start of the Championship," he added.
"No team has surprised us. I thought we were going to be first in the group, but football is the result. But in terms of morale and dedication, we are at the max.
"We have not been there since 2012, but against Slovakia we had to win and now we have another final. I don't know if we are going to pass, but my team has no doubts. We are going to try to minimise the threat of the rival."
The match will be Croatia and Spain's third major tournament meeting, with both previous such clashes coming in European Championship group stages. Both sides won once each: Spain in 2012 and Croatia in 2016.
The Czech Republic reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 with a surprise 2-0 win over the Netherlands, who had Matthijs de Ligt sent off.
A close game in Budapest swung the way of Jaroslav Silhavy's men 55 minutes in when De Ligt was dismissed for a deliberate handball that prevented Patrik Schick from having a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Tomas Holes then headed in the opening goal before superbly setting up Schick for the second as the Czech Republic progressed to the last eight, where they face Denmark.
The majority of the Netherlands' first-half threat came through the forward runs of Denzel Dumfries, the right-back posing a real danger down the right but unable to provide for Memphis Depay and Donyell Malen.
The best of the first-half chances fell to Antonin Barak, who was teed up by Lukas Masopust but saw his effort from six yards out just blocked over the bar by De Ligt.
Malen carved out a brilliant opening to break the deadlock, driving his way through the Czech Republic defence only to see Tomas Vaclik take the ball from his feet as he tried to round the goalkeeper.
Moments later, De Ligt misjudged a bouncing ball and hooked it away from Patrik Schick with his hand as he fell, leading referee Sergey Karasev to send off the centre-back after a VAR review.
Pavel Kaderabek had a great chance when Schick missed a header, but Dumfries made a brilliant block in front of keeper Maarten Stekelenburg, the Netherlands suddenly on the ropes.
The breakthrough came with a little over 20 minutes left, Holes heading into the net after Tomas Kalas nodded the ball back across the box, with Stekelenburg caught out of position.
Frank de Boer introduced Wout Weghorst in a bid to find an equaliser, but Schick put the game beyond doubt with a slick low finish after Holes drove through a gap between Georginio Wijnaldum and Dumfries before cutting the ball back.
Mathieu van der Poel twice saw calculated gambles pay off as he won the second stage of the Tour de France to claim the yellow jersey.
The Alpecin-Fenix rider broke clear in the final kilometre to claim victory at Mur-de-Bretagne, finishing six seconds ahead of reigning champion Tadej Pogacar.
It was the second tactical burst from Van der Poel during the 183.5km journey from Perros-Guirec, having also attacked on the first ascent to claim a time bonus at the summit.
That move, along with his stage triumph, made sure the Dutchman leads the way in the general classification. He paid tribute to his grandfather Raymond Poulidor – an overall runner-up three times in Le Tour during his illustrious career – by pointing towards the sky as he crossed the line.
"I have no words. I really don’t know what to say," Van der Poel said in his post-stage interview.
"I gambled a little bit. I went on the first climb because I knew I needed the bonus seconds if I wanted the jersey. It was my last chance to get it."
Pogacar saw off Primoz Roglic and Wilco Kelderman in a sprint to claim second place, while stage one winner Julian Alaphilippe came home in fifth place – he is the nearest challenger to Van der Poel in the general classification standings.
After the carnage of the opening day, Sunday's action thankfully saw most of the drama focused on the racing.
The start of the 2021 event had seen two major crashes, the first of which came about after Tony Martin collided with a spectator's placard. With so many competitors caught up in the incident, the race was neutralised to allow the peloton to make up ground on the breakaway group.
Race organisers attempted to keep the course clear on day two, though there were moments when riders could be seen asking fans to allow more room.
STAGE RESULT
1. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) 04:18:30
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) +00:06
3. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma)
4. Wilco Kelderman (Bora-Hansgrohe)
5. Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep) +00:08
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) 08:57:25
2. Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) +00:08
3. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) +00:13
Points Classification
1. Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) 66
2. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) 50
3. Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange) 45
King of the Mountains
1. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) 4
2. Ide Schelling (Bora-Hansgrohe) 4
3. Anthony Perez (Cofidis) 3
Argentina can clinch top spot in Group A as they aim to maintain their unbeaten run under Lionel Scaloni against a Bolivia side already certain of an early Copa America exit.
The format of the 2021 tournament means just one team from each section misses out on the last eight, though the final matches are still pivotal as nations jostle for positions in the final standings.
Bolivia's exit was confirmed with a 2-0 reverse against Uruguay last time out, another blank in front of goal meaning Cesar Farias' side have managed to score just once in three outings so far.
Argentina have also found it tough going in attack, despite the presence of the talismanic Lionel Messi. Following a 1-1 draw with Chile in their opener, they have recorded back-to-back 1-0 triumphs over Uruguay and Paraguay.
Those results mean head coach Scaloni has not seen his team lose in his previous 16 games. His last defeat in the job came in the previous edition of the Copa America, as they were knocked out by rivals Brazil in the 2019 semi-finals.
A potential rematch appears unlikely until the final this time around, with Brazil winning Group B. Argentina know a victory in Cuiaba will be enough for them to do the same ahead of the quarter-finals.
Scaloni has a decision to make over whether to rest Messi, who has played every minute in the competition so far.
While the Barcelona superstar just recently turned 34, he may want to be involved from the start as he looks to win his 148th international cap, which would move him out of a tie with Javier Mascherano to sit alone at the top of the list for Argentina appearances.
Those in danger of receiving a suspension with another yellow card on Monday are likely to be left out, among them Lautaro Martinez, Leandro Paredes and Giovanni Lo Celso.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Argentina - Alejandro Gomez
'Papu' Gomez arrived late to international football but helped make up for lost time in his previous outing with his first goal in a competitive fixture for Argentina. He struck in the 10th minute against Paraguay, while he also completed 88.2 per cent of his attempted passes in the opposition half before being substituted. Did he do enough to keep his place, though?
Bolivia - Carlos Lampe
Goalkeeper Lampe has been a rare positive for his team at the Copa America, making the most saves per game (eight) among those to have played in two or more fixtures. Even with Argentina potentially resting players, Bolivia's last line of defence may well be busy again as they prepare to say farewell to this year's Copa.
KEY OPTA FACTS
- This will be the 10th meeting in the Copa America at a neutral venue, with Argentina never previously losing in such contests (W9 D1). However, Bolivia have won twice when serving as competition hosts, in 1963 and 1979.
- Scaloni is unbeaten in his last 16 managerial games in all competitions, his best run since taking charge of Argentina (W9 D7).
- After five unbeaten games in the Copa America with Venezuela, Cesar Farias has lost the last four; one for Venezuela (semi-final in 2011) and three for Bolivia (all this year).
- Argentina are the team with the most goals scored in the first 15 minutes of their games (two), with all of their goals scored in the first half of games (three, same as Ecuador).
Maverick Vinales has denied he has agreed to make a shock move to Aprilia but says he has been thinking about leaving Monster Energy Yamaha since the start of the season.
Talk of Vinales potentially being on the move swept through the paddock at Dutch TT this weekend.
The 26-year-old Spaniard is contracted to Yamaha until 2022 but he has been linked with a switch to become Aleix Espargaro's team-mate next year.
Vinales said he has not agreed a deal with Aprilia, yet gave a strong indication he will seek pastures now after finishing second behind MotoGP championship leader Fabio Quartararo in Assen on Sunday.
"No it's not true," Vinales told DAZN after being asked if he was joining Aprilia
"Now, for the moment we go to the summer break and we'll see.
"Of course it's an option [to move on], I'm thinking about it since the beginning of the season, because I'm not able to show my full potential, I can't tell you more."
Aprilia Racing chief executive Massimo Rivola said the team would ask swiftly if the opportunity to sign Vinales arises.
He told DAZN: "We don't know if Maverick will be on the market for 2022. If he is released by Yamaha, then he will certainly be of interest to us.
"But it is all to be built. First of all, we have to see if the rider is available and if he is willing to come to us. We have not spoken with him yet. But if he is released from Yamaha we will talk to him immediately."
South Africa Rugby has announced the entire Springboks squad is self-isolating after three players tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the Test series against the British and Irish Lions.
Following the discovery of the trio of cases during PCR testing in Johannesburg, the reigning world champions announced the cancellation of a planned training session on Sunday.
Team management will consult with medical experts before deciding what steps to take next, with the isolation of players and staff coming just as the Lions prepare to fly out from Edinburgh.
"The Springboks cancelled Sunday's planned training session in Johannesburg as a precautionary measure when scheduled testing protocols returned three positive COVID-19 test results when the team assembled on Saturday," a statement read.
"Three players tested positive for the virus following stringent real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing procedures on arrival at the team base.
"Team management immediately put the squad into self-isolation as a precaution until specialist medical advice is sought from the medical advisory group (MAG).
"A decision on further team activities will be made shortly.
"Director of rugby Rassie Erasmus emphasised that the team had followed all the necessary precautions since the start of the three-week conditioning camp hosted in Bloemfontein, which included mandatory COVID-19 testing three times a week, and that they would be led by specialist advice before any action is taken."
The Lions have had problems to deal with before departing for South Africa, captain Alun Wyn Jones suffering a dislocated shoulder during the warm-up win over Japan on Saturday that will see him miss the entire trip.
Fellow Wales international Justin Tipuric is another to be ruled out following the 28-10 victory at Murrayfield, with head coach Warren Gatland calling up Adam Beard and Josh Navidi as replacements.
Conor Murray, meanwhile, is to take over the captaincy duties in the absence of Jones, who was set to lead the squad on his fourth tour with the Lions.
The three-match Test series against the Springboks begins at Cape Town Stadium on July 24.
Lewis Hamilton acknowledged it is "impossible to keep up" with Red Bull right now after Max Verstappen's latest win at the Styrian Grand Prix.
Verstappen's third victory in four races – and Red Bull's fourth in a row – dealt another blow to Hamilton's Formula One title defence.
The seven-time champion finished over 35 seconds behind Verstappen, who was never under threat after taking pole at the Red Bull Ring.
The Dutchman became the first driver to win three times at the circuit, a home race for Red Bull.
Four victories in 2021 make this Verstappen's best season to date, too, and Hamilton – now only one race shy of his longest single-season winless run in the Hybrid Era (five, twice in 2016) – did not enjoy his distant view of proceedings.
"It was a bit of a lonely race, really," the Briton said on the podium, having finished second.
"I was trying to keep up with those guys, but the speed they have, they've obviously made some big improvements over the last couple of races. It's impossible to keep up.
"I don't know where we're losing all the time, but their long runs seem to be a bit better, they seem to be able to continue putting out those laps.
"Obviously, on the straight, we lose a lot, or it feels like we lose a lot down the straights.
"Nevertheless, we got good points as a team today and we've just got to keep pushing."
Asked how concerned he was by Red Bull's performance, Hamilton replied: "I try not to concern myself with it.
"They're just faster than us. There's not a lot that I can do, in that respect. I've just got to try to do the best job I can next weekend.
"We need to find some performance. We need an upgrade of some sort."
Next weekend sees the teams back at the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix, the third leg of a triple-header. Verstappen has won the first two.
"That's very positive, but of course we have to show it again next week," Verstappen said.
"We'll definitely have a look at what we can do better. I'm looking forward to next week.
"It's looking really good. We just have to keep on going, keep pushing really hard, and I'm confident that we can do a good job again."
It was suggested Verstappen has never had an easier drive and he responded: "You never know, of course, how it's going to end up, but straight away I felt good balance on the car.
"It was good to manage the tyres basically from the start. It felt like at the end I had tyres left.
"They pitted one lap earlier than us, we reacted to that and kept on going, trying to hit our lap times. That worked really well today."
Karim Benzema will hope to build upon a return to the international scoresheet when France take on Switzerland in the last 16 of Euro 2020.
Benzema netted both his team's goals in 2-2 draw with Portugal that secured top spot in Group F for Les Bleus last time out – his first since the end of an exile from the national team that began in 2015.
In his only previous appearance against Switzerland at the 2014 World Cup, the 33-year-old Real Madrid forward scored twice and supplied an assist in a resounding 5-2 win.
Indeed, this will be the fifth meeting between the teams at a major tournament and France are unbeaten in the previous four, with their most recent encounter at Euro 2016 finishing goalless.
If the identity of a France front three featuring Benzema, Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe feels fairly settled, Didier Deschamps' starting formation has become a matter for debate.
A report by L'Equipe du Soir claimed a number of players have asked the coaching staff to revert to a 3-4-3 system
Jules Kounde started at right-back against Portugal but is a doubt for Monday's game in Bucharest with a hamstring problem and, while Lucas Hernandez is back in training after a knee complaint forced him off at half-time in the previous match, Lucas Digne (thigh) is out, meaning Deschamps has plenty to ponder whether operating with a back three or a back four.
"They’re a well-structured team and they have good attacking potential with [Haris] Seferovic, [Breel] Embolo and [Xherdan] Shaqiri," the World Cup-winning coach said of Switzerland.
"We must not underestimate them and it's a knockout game so we’ll have to do everything we can to ensure we have smiles on our faces at the end of the match."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
France – Kylian Mbappe
While Benzema is now off and running for the tournament and Griezmann netted the equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Hungary, Mbappe is yet to get off the mark – a state of affairs that surely cannot continue much longer for the Paris Saint-Germain superstar. Mbappe has no goals from eight shots in the tournament with a combined expected goals (xG) value of 1.3.
Switzerland – Xherdan Shaqiri
One man who had no problem in front of goal during the final round of group stage matches was Liverpool attacker Shaqiri, upon whom Switzerland will again pin plenty of their hopes. His brace against Turkey made him Switzerland's all-time leading scorer in major tournaments with seven, overtaking Josef Hugi (six).
KEY OPTA FACTS
- Switzerland have reached the knockout stages at each of their past four major tournaments. They were eliminated in their first match following the group stages on each of those previous three instances.
- France have only lost one of their previous 17 matches at the Euros and World Cup combined (W12 D4) – the Euro 2016 final against Portugal.
- Switzerland will face the reigning world champions at a major tournament for the first time. Overall, they have won only three of their 20 matches against reigning world champions (D9 L8), with this their first such match since a 1-1 draw with Italy in June 2010.
- France progressed the ball upfield 18.7 metres per sequence on average during the group stages, the highest figure of any side, highlighting their ability to advance the ball after regaining possession.
- Griezmann has played in each of France's past 51 matches, a run that started on August 31, 2017 against the Netherlands. The Barcelona forward is the only player to make 50+ appearances for a European country since that date.
Max Verstappen avoided any drama as he secured a record-setting third win at the Red Bull Ring to pull further clear at the top of the drivers' championship.
Verstappen's fourth victory of 2021 – his best return in a single Formula One campaign – gave Red Bull a weekend to remember at their home track at the Styrian Grand Prix.
This triumph never appeared under serious threat, however, as Verstappen started from pole and quickly pulled clear of defending champion and title rival Lewis Hamilton.
With Sergio Perez victorious at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix between two prior Verstappen successes, Red Bull have four straight victories for the first time in the hybrid era ahead of a return to this circuit next week for the Austrian Grand Prix, the third leg of a triple-header.
As Verstappen quickly escaped Hamilton's attention, major incident was reserved for further back in the field.
Hamilton was also in the clear despite an early battle between Perez and Lando Norris behind him. Norris won that tussle but offered little defence when Perez attacked again, also letting Valtteri Bottas through as McLaren focused on outlasting Ferrari.
Red Bull expertly executed an undercut in the previous race to give Verstappen the edge over Hamilton, but a poor pit stop cost Perez this time.
He dropped behind Bottas, who was swiftly called in to ensure he emerged on fresh tyres with an advantage still intact.
Hamilton was followed in by Verstappen, whose lead was so significant the Mercedes man could scarcely see the back of his opponent as he exited the pit lane.
He never got any nearer, with Verstappen showboating as he crossed the line well clear of any competition.
Hamilton at least took the fastest lap and Bottas held off Perez in a tense scrap after both men pitted once more, giving Mercedes two drivers on the podium.
LEWIS BEING LEFT BEHIND
Such was Verstappen's advantage with still more than 10 laps remaining that Hamilton appealed to his team radio for guidance.
The seven-time champion knew he had no chance of cutting the gap to Verstappen but understandably did not much like the idea of settling for second.
Only twice in the hybrid era (both in 2016) has Hamilton previously gone more than four races – his current winless run – without a victory in a single season.
WILLIAMS WOE ONCE MORE
Hamilton at least enjoyed a better outing than the man who could eventually become his Mercedes team-mate.
George Russell was running in eighth after early contact between Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly caused chaos and ended the latter's afternoon.
All was going so uncharacteristically well for Williams as Russell piled pressure on seventh-placed Fernando Alonso, already on course for a career-best finish.
Then a power unit issue kept Russell in the pit lane for an extended period. A second stop to treat the same problem set the Williams man back further and a third visit was his last, cutting his race short on another frustrating day.
The San Francisco Giants have no designs on slowing down after their walk-off win over the Oakland Athletics saw them become the first team to reach 50 wins in MLB this season.
Competing in a stacked National League West division with the defending World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, the Giants have dramatically upset the odds.
They own the best record in baseball and Curt Casali's double in the 10th secured a 6-5 extra-innings triumph against Bay Area rivals the Athletics, moving them to 50-26.
Through 76 games, that is the second-most wins the Giants have recorded since moving to San Francisco from New York in 1958.
In 1993, the Giants won 51 of their first 76 games, but missed out on the four-team playoffs despite a 103-59 record.
Owning a 4.5-game lead over the Dodgers and with the Padres just a game a further back, a Giants team that was without star veterans Buster Posey and Brandon Belt due to injuries against Oakland can ill-afford a drop-off in their excellent form.
Gabe Kapler's team have won nine of their last 10 games and hero of the hour Casali, the backup catcher to Posey, insists they are determined to keep surprising.
"It's fun to come to the ballpark. I can't wait to show up to the field every day," said Casali.
"It's really special to be a part of. Fifty wins is a lot more than people thought we'd get at this point and we have plans to keep going."
The Giants' resurgence comes after four successive seasons in which they missed the playoffs and has come about partly because of their remarkable success hitting the long ball.
Indeed, the Giants have hit 114 home runs, tied for the league lead with the Toronto Blue Jays.
San Francisco's best mark for home runs in the 2010s was 167 in 2019 and they hit 81 in the shortened 60-game 2020 regular season.
On course to smash that 2019 tally, the Giants are one of the most entertaining teams in the game and, though it remains to be seen whether they can hold off the Dodgers and Padres long term, Kapler's men are ensuring they enjoy the moment.
"We're just rolling right now and it feels really good," added Casali.
San Francisco will look to complete a three-game sweep of the Athletics on Sunday.
Spain will look to end a run of falling at the first hurdle in the knockouts of a major tournament when they face Croatia in the last 16 of Euro 2020.
A 5-0 thrashing of Slovakia sent La Roja through in second place in Group E after draws with Sweden and Poland had left their chances of progressing in doubt.
Croatia, meanwhile, were 3-1 winners over Scotland on matchday three, ensuring they followed England in escaping Group D to secure a spot in the knockout phase for the fourth time in six European Championship appearances.
They have never progressed beyond the first round after the group stage, while Spain's recent form in the latter rounds of tournaments has also been poor: after winning Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012, they were eliminated at this stage of both Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup.
Their previous meeting with Croatia ended in a 3-2 defeat in November 2018 in the Nations League, but coach Luis Enrique would do well to be inspired by the match two months earlier when Spain romped to a 6-0 victory. So too would his forwards.
Spain had a higher expected goals total than any other side in the group stage (8.8), but scored only six times. In fact, the players to underperformed the most based on xG over the first three matchdays were Gerard Moreno (zero goals from 2.1 xG) and the much-maligned Alvaro Morata (one goal from 2.9 xG).
Scoring goals is certainly not a worry for Marcos Llorente, who told AS: "In the first two games, we got a bit stuck with in front of goal, but we've already seen we're capable of creating many chances, even for opponents who sit back.
"We did so and we lacked effectiveness in the first two games, and in the last one, we had it. It was a good victory."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Croatia – Ante Rebic
With Ivan Perisic - who scored one and set up another against Scotland - missing after a positive COVID-19 test, there is great pressure on the rest of the Croatia attack to perform.
Rebic is most likely to replace Perisic in the line-up and, while the Milan forward is far from prolific for his country, his work rate at the very least could be key to disrupt Spain's rhythm.
Spain – Sergio Busquets
It would be wrong to claim the return of Busquets was the reason Spain suddenly found their goalscoring groove against Slovakia, but it is certainly true that there was more purpose to their possession play with the Barcelona man in the middle.
Against a midfield of the strength and experience of Croatia's, Busquets could be critical to La Roja's plans when it comes to keeping the ball and warding off counter-attacks.
KEY OPTA FACTS
- This will be Croatia and Spain's third major tournament meeting, with both previous such clashes coming in European Championship group stages. Both sides won once each: Spain in 2012 and Croatia in 2016.
- Spain forced more pressed sequences (sequences where the opposition has three or fewer passes and the sequence ends within 40 metres of their own goal) than any other side during the Euro 2020 group stages (60), while their average of eight passes allowed per defensive action was the lowest by any side in the round.
-All six of Spain's goals in the group stage were scored by different players, including two own goals. Indeed, Spain were the highest scoring side in the round not to see a player score more than once.
- Last time out against Scotland, Luka Modric became the oldest player to score for Croatia at the Euros (35 years and 286 days), while he also holds the record as the youngest goalscorer for his nation in the competition (22 years and 73 days versus Austria in 2008). Should he score in this game (aged 35 years and 292 days), he would become the second-oldest player in European Championship history to score in consecutive appearances in the competition, after Cristiano Ronaldo.
Conor Murray has spoken of his surprise at being named British and Irish Lions captain after Alun Wyn Jones was ruled out of the tour of South Africa.
Jones suffered a dislocated shoulder early in the Lions' win over Japan on Saturday, while Justin Tipuric also misses the tour due to a shoulder injury sustained at Murrayfield.
Warren Gatland turned to Ireland scrum-half Murray to take over as skipper, with Adam Beard and Josh Navidi called up as replacements for their Wales team-mates Jones and Tipuric.
Murray was not expecting to be asked to lead the Lions in what will be his third tour.
Asked if he was surprised Gatland wanted him to step up, the pivot said: "A little bit to be honest.
"I didn't even think about it. I knew that Al was out and then you look around the squad and there are so many contenders.
"Warren asked me just before the cap ceremony and it was surreal. I still don't have my head around it, but it's an unbelievable honour. It's something that I never thought would be possible.
"I didn't think about it long. I said, 'absolutely, it'll be a massive honour. Thank you very much for this opportunity'.
"Then you kind of think about how big it is and then obviously my phone has gone a bit crazy since it was announced.
"I tried to call my girlfriend Joanna, but her phone was on one per cent as usual. Her phone was off and my dad is in Edinburgh, he was out with his friends having a few drinks, and so he was the first person I spoke to.
"My mum's in Kerry and I rang her. She's down with a few friends who were watching the Japan game and they're celebrating too, so it still hasn't sunk in to be honest."
Murray said the loss of Jones is a big blow for the Lions.
"We're very disappointed to lose Alun Wyn. He's been brilliant for the first two weeks. I've known him from the past two tours and he's been incredible. It's a huge loss,” Murray said.
"He came up to me and said 'congrats and just be yourself' and I think that's really important. Growing up, you probably thought you had to try and be a certain type of person to be a leader, but you just have to be yourself.
"Once you have the respect of the group around you, that's a massive plus, a massive thing that can calm you down a bit. If you have the respect of the lads and you do what you do and you do it honestly, then it should be fine.
"It's a huge honour, but there's such a good group of leaders in this squad that makes it less daunting, definitely. There are lads that you can lean on, lads who have captained their country.
"There's massive experience there so you know it'll definitely be a group thing. I'm going to enjoy it and again lean on those boys. It'll take a bit of getting used to, but it's such an honour."
Chris Froome will try and "survive" stage two of the Tour de France after crashing at high speed in the "carnage" of a crash on the first day of the race.
The four-time Tour champion was involved in the second major crash late in the opening stage from Brest to Landerneau on Saturday.
Froome appeared be struggling to stand after hitting the deck along with a whole host of other riders, but the Brit was able to finish the stage.
The Israel Start-Up Nation rider was in hospital until the early hours of Sunday morning, but will be on the starting line-up for a 183.5km second stage from Perros-Guirec to Mur-de-Bretagne Guerledan.
Froome said in an interview posted on his team's Twitter account: "That was definitely a bit of a crazy stage. One moment everything was fine heading towards the finish and the last 10ks and then 60-70km an hour, I think there was just a touch of wheels somewhere in the peloton and it was just carnage.
"Probably 50-60 riders on the floor, unfortunately there was just nowhere for me to go. I braked as hard as I could but still just went into the back of the guys who crashed in front of me.
"I hit my left side pretty hard, my left leg, and also the chest but went for scans last night and spent the whole evening in the hospital, got back at like 1am but all good.
"No fractures, just a lot of swelling, a lot of bruising. I'm pretty sore this morning but I'm going to try and get through today, survive the stage and hope over the next coming days it starts to feel better."
World champion Julian Alaphilippe delighted the home crowd by claiming the yellow jersey on day one.
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