SEVILLE/ ST. PETERSBURG, June 23: A bizarre blunder by the goalkeeper helped Spain find its scoring touch at the European Championship.
And it also helped them advance to the round of 16.
An embarrassing own-goal by goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka in the first half put Spain on the way to a 5-0 victory Wednesday, and it came only minutes after the host team had missed another penalty and wasted more scoring chances.
Dúbravka saved that early penalty kick from Álvaro Morata but then clumsily knocked the ball into his own net after it ricocheted high into the air off a shot by Pablo Sarabia.
Aymeric Laporte added to Spain’s lead before halftime, and Sarabia, Ferran Torres and another own-goal in the second half made it five for “La Roja,” which had been facing elimination in front of its fans.
The victory allowed Spain to advance in second place in Group E with five points, two fewer than Sweden, which defeated Poland 3-2 in the other match.
The result eliminated Slovakia, which needed a draw to guarantee its place in the next round.
Sweden score late to beat Poland 3-2
Even with two goals, Robert Lewandowski still couldn’t stop Poland from an early exit the European Championship.
The FIFA player of the year made amends for an astounding early triple miss by scoring twice in the second half on Wednesday, but Viktor Claesson put in the winning goal in stoppage to give Sweden a 3-2 victory.
Emil Forsberg scored twice for the Swedes, which will next face a third-place finisher in Glasgow on Tuesday.
For Poland and Lewandowski, it’s another early exit from a major soccer tournament.
The Bayern Munich striker leaves Euro 2020 with three goals, his best haul at a World Cup or European Championship. But even his double against Sweden — in the 61st and 84th minutes — might be overshadowed by an extraordinary sequence of events in the first half when he headed the ball against the crossbar twice in as many seconds.
After the second one, the ball landed his feet in front of goal but it got caught in between his legs and he still couldn’t score. (AP)
