COPENHAGEN: After progressing to the quarterfinals of the ongoing Euro 2020, Spain coach Luis Enrique praised goalkeeper Unai Simon for the way he reacted to his mistake in the round of 16 match against Croatia.
Spain defeated Croatia 5-3 in the round of 16 match to progress further in the tournament. The normal 90 minutes action had finished at 3-3, but Spain managed to score two more goals in extra time.
Simon had gifted Croatia the lead in the match when he failed to stop his teammate Pedri's pass back from the middle of the field.
"Unai Simon has taught everyone a lesson. After a mistake, your mistake does not matter, but your attitude after the mistake," Goal.com quoted Enrique as saying.
"It is a lesson for all his teammates and for all the children who want to play football," he added.
After this mistake, Simon made some crucial saves and he was able to hold Croatia off.
"It was an epic match. It had positive and some negative things. Football is a sport of mistakes. The two sets of fans have applauded the two teams for the effort and show that the two teams have given. I have lived through some very intense matches, but this is one of the most," said Enrique.
For Spain, Pablo Sarabia, Cesar Azpilicueta, Ferran Torres, Alvaro Morata and Mikel Oyarzabai got among the scoring charts as Spain walked away with a 5-3 victory.
Spain will now take on Switzerland in the quarterfinals of the ongoing Euro on Friday.