![]() Then he got up and punched the air in celebration. And after Croatia rallied with two late goals to take the game into extra time, he produced his best save of the game.Ĭroatia substitute Andrej Kramaric had a great chance to score at the start of extra time, but Simon got down to stop his shot. He made a key save to prevent an equalizer when Spain held a 2-1 lead. Instead of having his confidence shaken, Simon was nearly flawless after that. ![]() The goalkeeper tried to control the bouncing ball but it went over his foot and then trickled into net behind him. "Football is made up of errors and his reaction, making great saves, was an example of why we have such confidence in him.The own-goal came in the 20th minute when Spain midfielder Pedri Gonzalez played a long back-pass to Simon from near the halfway line. "Unai gave a lesson to kids everywhere," said Spain manager Luis Enrique. "He made some exceptional saves and he dealt with everything well." ![]() "He's certainly redeemed himself and it goes to show the power of mental strength in sport. "If you're a midfielder and you make that error you have so much more chance to make up for the error but that's not always the case for a goalkeeper. "He'll be so relieved," Christiansen added. He reacted brilliantly to what happened and he saved us with a couple of stops which were tremendous - particularly when the score was 3-3." Goalscorer Ferran Torres agreed: "Unai is a great goalkeeper. He was ultra secure after the goal and made some top saves." ![]() "The goal was bad luck but his mentality is very laid back, and he showed that today. "Unai knows he's got our total confidence," said Spain captain Sergio Busquets. He also denied Kramaric again as Croatia had a chance for 4-4, after Alvaro Morata had restored Spain's lead. Simon's redemptionĪfter Croatia scored twice in the final five minutes of normal time to make it 3-3 and force extra time, Simon was presented with his chance for redemption.Īndrej Kramaric seemed certain to put Croatia 4-3 up with a powerful shot from close range but the goalkeeper reacted quickly and got down well to keep it out. In their final group game Slovakia's Martin Dubravka clawed the ball into his own net as he tried to tip a cross over the bar. It is the second Spain game in a row to contain a memorable, baffling own goal. "He is a goalkeeper who makes mistakes and a lot of those mistakes come when he's forced to play the ball." Unai Simon in La Liga has the record for mistakes leading to most goals conceded - eight - in a season. Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague was not surprised: "It's not an accident. and little did they know what would happen later in the game He switches off." Spain fans could not believe what they were seeing. "If you're in any doubt at all you make sure you get the biggest part of your body behind the ball. He takes his eye off the ball, he's not even looking at it. "What a mistake from the goalkeeper," said former England striker Dion Dublin for BBC Sport. actually it is as many own goals as there were in every other European Championship combined (15 Euros).Īlthough one of Wayne Rooney's goals at Euro 2004 should have been a Jorg Stiel own goal. Remarkably, that was the ninth own goal at Euro 2020 so far. That goal holds the record for the longest-range strike in Euros history. Pedri's effort was from 49.4 yards, which is only 0.3 yards behind Patrik Schick's effort (in the right net) for the Czech Republic against Scotland earlier this month. A complete lapse in concentration and he took his eye off of it at the last second," said England international Izzy Christiansen on BBC Radio 5 Live. "You will never see a more bizarre own goal than that. It was initially credited as a Simon own goal - but Pedri later got the 'honour'. Simon, the 24-year-old Athletic Bilbao keeper, had almost half the pitch to watch the ball come back to him but completely misjudged his attempted control, barely getting a touch (if at all) as the ball rolled past him into the empty net. Listen to the latest Daily Euros podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live.Check out the Euro 2020 scores and fixtures.The drama all started when Pedri - the youngest player ever to start a Euros knockout game at the age of 18 - got the ball near the centre circle and decided to knock it back to his keeper. It was just a shame it was actually an own goal. Not only that, the opener was the second-longest range strike in European Championship history. Seven players involved in a slick 10-pass move leading to a goal. The lonely walk back to his goal for Unai Simon A classic Spain goal - in the wrong net And much to Simon's relief, his bizarre howler will be just a footnote in a pulsating Copenhagen encounter, in which he would go on to earn redemption for his horrible mistake.
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