19th June, 2012, Poznan and Gdansk: Last night, in Gdansk, defending European champ Spain beat Croatia 1 – 0 to reach the quarter finals of Euro 2012. The first half of the match went goalless. Spain scored the lone goal of the match in 88th minute as Navas converted a pass from Andrés Iniesta.

Even though Spain won, yet they were not at their best. At times it looked that the game could have gone either way. The World Champions reach the knock out stage with 7 points in three games.

After the game, Vicente del Bosque, the Spain coach stated that his team were not at their best in this game. The team played well even though things did not go as per plan. The game was not great at all for them and they have to think about it. The Spain coach also made it clear that they are playing for a win and not for a draw. They have taken a step ahead by qualifying to the knock out stage. They are not thinking about their quarter final opponent whether it is England, Ukraine or Spain. He also praised Croatia for their effort on the field.

In another Group C match, Italy defeated Republic of Ireland 2 – 0 in Poznan. Cassano and Balotelli scored the goals for Italy.