Sergio Ramos: Spain must learn from Euro 2016 defeat to Croatia

Posted Wednesday, June 22, 2016 by ESPN

Spain captain Sergio Ramos was left to reflect on a "strange game" after seeing a penalty saved as Croatia beat Spain 2-1 in Euro 2016 Group D.

The result means defending champions Spain finished second in the group and must now face Italy in the knockout stage, and Ramos said they needed to learn from their errors.

Spain seemed set for a third straight group win when Alvaro Morata put them ahead seven minutes in, but Nikola Kalinic equalised and an excellent Croatia performance got its reward when Ivan Perisic beat David De Gea at his near post in the dying moments.

With the score at 1-1, Ramos saw his spot kick saved by Croatia goalkeeper Danijel Subasic, and the Real Madrid defender told Spanish TV channel Telecinco: "The truth is that it was a strange game.

Sergio Ramos: Spain must learn from Euro 2016 defeat to Croatia

"We dominated at the start, had chances, went in front. We let them off the hook, had a chance to go back ahead with the penalty, but it wasn't to be. One of the few chances they had, on the counter, we had some bad luck and it was a goal.

"We are still through -- although against a tougher opponent than expected."

Defensive mistakes saw Spain concede for a first time in 10 competitive games, and Ramos said: "We must learn from this so it does not happen again in the next round. And we must keep a clean sheet, as we have been doing.

"It is true that now we must face teams who are favourites, but to win you must beat the best teams. And in this tournament teams that are not favoured can knock you out.

"Now we must think about next rival and keep moving forward game by game."

Sergio Ramos: Spain must learn from Euro 2016 defeat to Croatia