La Roja only needed a point to be sure of at least a second place finish in Group E after starting the day at the top of the table, following a 7-0 thrashing of Costa Rica and a 1-1 draw with Germany in their opening two fixtures.
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Spain would have been guaranteed a place in the last 16 ahead of their final group stage clash with Japan had they beaten Germany in their previous game, but a late equalizer from Niclas Fullkrug ensured things would go down to the final round of fixtures.
Even if Spain had drawn with Japan and Costa Rica had won, Luis Enrique’s side would have still finished second, setting up a last 16 tie with the winners of Group F, which happened to be Morocco.
They finished runners up to Japan, meaning they avoided a clash with European rivals Croatia in the next round – a repeat of their last 16 tie at Euro 2020 last summer in which La Roja emerged as 5-3 winners after extra time.
Croatia and Morocco both needed to avoid defeats in their final game to ensure a place in the last 16 – and that’s exactly what happened.
