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Spain marched into the semi-final of Euro 2020 after seeing out 10-man Switzerland 3-1 on penalties in St. Petersburg.
Denis Zakaria's eighth-minute own goal was cancelled out by Xherdan Shaqiri in the second half, but Remo Freuler's red card soon after punctured Switzerland's momentum.
Yet, the Rossocrociati held firm and forced extra-time, where they again frustrated La Roja with resolute defending despite the former champions throwing caution to the winds. In fact, by the end of the 120 minutes, Spain had 73% possession and laid almost three times more passes than Switzerland.
In the ensuing penalty shootout, Spain's captain Sergio Busquets missed the first penalty, and Martin Gavranovic scored to give Switzerland the advantage. Dani Olmo brought Spain level before the two teams combined for three consecutive missed penalties. That left Mikel Oyarzabal to seal the match for Spain with the final spot-kick.
With the win, Spain are into the semi-final of a major tournament for the first time since winning Euro 2012 title. They will next face Italy at the Wembley on Tuesday.
On that note, here are the five hits and flops from either team in the game:
Hit: Koke (Spain)
Koke was in very inspired form against Switzerland. He shouldered the creative mantle for Spain with elan and conjured four good chances for his teammates in the match. He took up set-piece duties, including the corner-kick which resulted in Zakaria's own goal.
Switzerland had no answer to Koke's on-the-ball skills as the Spain international sliced through their defence with silky passes and read the game brilliantly too.
Koke made five accurate long balls to spark attacking moves. However, the Atletico Madrid star was subbed off before full-time, and La Roja dearly missed his creative spark in extra time.
Flop: Haris Seferovic (Switzerland)
The hero against France with a sweet double, Haris Seferovic, looked like a shadow of his rip-roaring self against Spain as he cut a forlorn figure upfront. In fact, the striker didn't attempt a single shot in 82 minutes of action, let alone score, in what was a massive decline in his performance.
With Spain boasting the lion's share of the ball, Switzerland were largely confined to their own half, leaving Seferovic isolated upfront. But even when they regained possession, Switzerland struggled to provide him with proper service. Besides winning a pair of corners, there was nothing much to write home about his performance on the night.
Hit: Yann Sommer (Switzerland)
The only reason Spain didn't win the match in normal time was because of Yann Sommer's heroics. He was an impenetrable wall in goal, making numerous crucial stops and saves to keep Switzerland in the match and frustrate their Spanish counterparts.
In set-piece situations, too, Sommer showed commendable anticipation, punching the ball clear or standing tall to headed efforts. In the shootout, he blocked Rodri's penalty, but that was to no avail, as Switzerland missed three of their four penalties to exit the tournament.
Yet, nothing takes away from Sommer's heroics against Spain on the day. He produced a goalkeeping masterclass for the ages.
Flop: Pablo Sarabia (Spain)
Spain's attacking performance was largely disappointing, as neither of their front three were impressive. But Pablo Sarabia had the worst game among the striking triumvirate, so it wasn't surprising to see him subbed off at half-time.
Following back-to-back fabulous outings against Slovakia and Croatia, the PSG starlet ran out of steam against Switzerland. Without a single accurate cross or an effort on goal, he seemed lost on the left flank and made no meaningful impact going forward.
He looked to stretch the Swiss defence open with his darting runs and had space to work into, but Sarabia was not his menacing self on the day. He also lost possession a staggering 14 times in the opening stanza.
Hit: Switzerland
It's the end of the road for Switzerland at Euro 2020, but what an incredible journey they've had! Nobody saw them coming this far at the tournament, but the Rossocociati surpassed all expectations to script a memorable underdog story at the tournament.
Finishing third in Group A and qualifying for the knockout stages by the skin of their teeth, Vladimir Petkovic's side sent shockwaves by ousting world champions France in the last-16. They showed tremendous character and courage in the face of adversity to beat Les Bleus.
Against Spain, they were undeterred even after going down to ten men. They dragged their counterparts to extra-time, where the Nati resisted Spain for 30 more minutes with admirable defensive resolve.
Technically, Switzerland lost just once in the tournament in five games, despite playing against some of Europe's biggest heavyweights. So they can go home with their heads held high.
