Euro 2016: Spain falls to Croatia, will face Italy in knockout round
Germany, Croatia, Poland, Northern Ireland are all advancing
Germany and Croatia secured top spots in their groups while Poland and Northern Ireland both advanced to the knockout rounds after Tuesday action at the European Championship in France.
Croatia came from behind to beat two-time defending champion Spain 2-1 Tuesday and finished first in Group D at the soccer tournament.
Ivan Perisic's 87th minute goal ended Spain's unbeaten run at a European Championship that stretched all the way back to 2004.
The result means Spain will now meet Italy in the round of 16, in a potentially mouth-watering rematch of the 2012 final that Spain won 4-0. Croatia will play one of the third-place teams on Saturday.
It had all started so well for Spain when striker Alvaro Morata put his side ahead in the seventh minute, redirecting the ball into the net after a shot by midfielder Cesc Fabregas.
Nikola Kalinic equalized just before halftime with a nice back-heel flick that beat Spanish goalkeeper David De Gea at the near post after Perisic delivered the cross from the left.
Spain had a chance to retake the lead but defender Sergio Ramos saw his penalty saved by Croatian goalkeeper Danijel Subasic in the 72nd minute. It proved to be a costly miss when Perisic finished off a fast counter attack with a low left-foot shot that beat goalkeeper David De Gea at his near post.
Both teams had entered the match at the Stade the Bordeaux guaranteed a spot in the knockout stage.
"We had the game more or less controlled," Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque said through a translator. "We had our own errors and then they punished us. We have to get over this."
The result ended Spain's 14-game unbeaten streak at the European Championship over two tournaments. It also ended the team's run of seven straight games without conceding a goal. The last time it had conceded was in a 1-1 draw against Italy in its first group match in the 2012 tournament.
"The team spirit helped us and we were fighting until the last minute," Perisic said through a translator. "I think we can go far now. If we play like this, we can go to the very end."
Northern Ireland moves on
Three hours after its 1-0 loss to Germany finished Tuesday, Northern Ireland advanced when the final whistle blew on Turkey's 2-0 win over the Czech Republic.
Northern Ireland will finish among the four best third-placed teams, who will join the top two teams from each group in the knockout stages. The Northern Irish won the tiebreaker with Turkey and Albania.
The rankings of third-placed teams will be completed Wednesday when the last matches in Groups E and F are played.
With the victory, Germany clinched top spot its group at the tournament and also advanced to the round of 16. Germany finished the first round with seven points and will now meet a third-place team in the next round.
Defied by the woodwork and standout Northern Ireland goalkeeper Michael McGovern, Germany had only Mario Gomez's 30th-minute goal to show for its dominance.
McGovern ensured his team, which ended the group with three points following its victory over Ukraine, can still advance as one of the best third-placed teams. Under the convoluted tiebreaker system being used at Euro 2016, goal difference could be key.
Northern Irish fans chanted "We're not going home" at the final whistle at the Parc des Princes.
The fans had McGovern to thank. McGovern stood strong to defy Thomas Mueller and Mario Goetze twice when they had one-on-one chances, and pushed away a late Gomez header.
Poland blanks Ukraine
Poland made it into the knockout round of the tournament for the first time with a 1-0 win in Marseille against Ukraine.
Second-half substitute Jakub Blaszczykowski struck the winner for Poland in the 54th minute. Poland qualified second in the group behind Germany.
Robert Lewandowski's continued inability to find the net, however, will hog headlines after he scored 13 goals in qualifying.
Blaszczykowski quickly rewarded coach Adam Nawalka for bringing him on for the second half, ending the stalemate and taking the wind out of Ukraine's sails with his goal from a cleverly worked short corner.