Spain beat Croatia 1-0 last night to qualify for the Euro 2012 quarter-finals at the top of Group C, and the overriding emotion for the world champions was one of relief.
Croatia competed well with the Spaniards and, with Jesus Navas’ winner only arriving in the 88th minute, there was a long period where a Croatian goal could have put Spain out of Euro 2012 – and Slaven Bilic’s men did look threatening.
For Spain, there was an acceptance that they were below par, with midfielder Andres Iniesta admitting that securing victory was a real fight.
“We suffered because it was a hard, difficult game”, said the Barcelona man post-match.
“It was one of those games when you are close to getting the goal but don’t manage it. We battled to the last and got the win.
“It is draining, we are not machines and we had some moments where we were up against it. Croatia gave us some problems and showed us they are a great team.”
And goalkeeper Iker Casillas even thanked luck for the Spanish victory.
“In the end we were lucky”, admitted Casillas.
“We played our one-touch football and scored late on.”
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