Spain book their place in the semi-finals of the European Championship after a penalty shootout win over Switzerland.
Swiss substitute Ruben Vargas was in tears at full-time after he blasted his penalty over the bar, allowing Mikel Oyarzabal to score the decider for Spain.
Spain, ranked sixth in the world, also needed extra time to defeat Croatia in the last 16 despite leading 3-1 with five minutes of normal time to play.
They were in front in St Petersburg against Switzerland too – midfielder Denis Zakaria deflected Jordi Alba’s shot into his own net to give Spain an early lead.
Swiss captain Xherdan Shaqiri equalised following a mistake at the back by Spain but team-mate Remo Freuler was sent off nine minutes later.
They held on to force extra time and a shootout but missed three spot kicks which ultimately proved costly.
Spain will face Italy at Wembley on Tuesday in the semi-finals after Roberto Mancini’s side beat Belgium 2-1.
Spain lack ruthlessness but scrape through
When Alba’s shot deflected in to put Spain 1-0 up in the eighth minute, there were hopeful signs for Luis Enrique’s side.
They had chances to extend their lead with Cesar Azpilicueta and Pau Torres both nodding wide from corners.
But Spain’s lack of ruthlessness in front of goal almost came back to bite them when Zakaria, earlier at fault for the own goal, came close with a header himself, while Steven Zuber was denied from close range.
Eventually it was a mistake at the back from Spain which gave Switzerland a lifeline. A mix-up between Aymeric Laporte and Pau Torres was pounced on by Freuler and he teed up Shaqiri, who could not miss.
But Freuler’s heroics were short-lived when he came sliding in late on Gerard Moreno and English referee Michael Oliver did not hesitate to show a straight red card.
Switzerland were clinging on for the remaining 13 minutes and defended bravely in extra time – Ricardo Rodriguez produced an excellent block to deny Marcos Llorente.
Moreno had the best chance two minutes into the added time when he fired wide from a few yards out and kicked the post in frustration.
But Spain – who missed two penalties in the shootout – did just enough to scrape through. Their toughest test yet will come in the last four against Italy after they knocked out Belgium, the world’s top-ranked team.
Switzerland
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Squad number23Player nameShaqiriAverage rating
8.04
-
Squad number1Player nameSommerAverage rating
7.81
-
Squad number5Player nameAkanjiAverage rating
6.95
-
Squad number9Player nameSeferovicAverage rating
6.93
-
Squad number14Player nameZuberAverage rating
6.91
-
Squad number13Player nameRodrÃguezAverage rating
6.89
-
Squad number4Player nameElvediAverage rating
6.72
-
Squad number7Player nameEmboloAverage rating
6.69
-
Squad number3Player nameWidmerAverage rating
6.51
-
Squad number19Player nameGavranovicAverage rating
6.51
-
Squad number2Player nameMbabuAverage rating
6.38
-
Squad number6Player nameZakariaAverage rating
6.37
-
Squad number15Player nameSowAverage rating
6.31
-
Squad number8Player nameFreulerAverage rating
6.26
-
Squad number11Player nameVargasAverage rating
6.24
-
Squad number16Player nameFassnachtAverage rating
6.17
-
Squad number22Player nameSchärAverage rating
6.16
Spain
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Squad number18Player nameAlbaAverage rating
6.09
-
Squad number10Player nameThiago AlcántaraAverage rating
6.01
-
Squad number2Player nameAzpilicuetaAverage rating
5.83
-
Squad number23Player nameSimónAverage rating
5.72
-
Squad number11Player nameTorresAverage rating
5.68
-
Squad number5Player nameBusquetsAverage rating
5.54
-
Squad number26Player namePedriAverage rating
5.52
-
Squad number8Player nameKokeAverage rating
5.43
-
Squad number24Player nameLaporteAverage rating
5.36
-
Squad number21Player nameOyarzabalAverage rating
5.25
-
Squad number4Player nameTorresAverage rating
5.23
-
Squad number19Player nameOlmoAverage rating
5.15
-
Squad number6Player nameMarcos LlorenteAverage rating
5.01
-
Squad number22Player nameSarabiaAverage rating
4.98
-
Squad number7Player nameMorataAverage rating
4.89
-
Squad number16Player nameRodriAverage rating
4.88
-
Squad number9Player nameMorenoAverage rating
4.71
Line-ups
Switzerland
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Sommer
- 3WidmerBooked at 67minsSubstituted forMbabuat 100’minutes
- 4Elvedi
- 5Akanji
- 13RodrÃguez
- 6ZakariaSubstituted forSchärat 100’minutes
- 8FreulerBooked at 77mins
- 7EmboloSubstituted forVargasat 23’minutes
- 23ShaqiriSubstituted forSowat 81’minutes
- 14ZuberSubstituted forFassnachtat 90+2’minutes
- 9SeferovicSubstituted forGavranovicat 82’minutesBooked at 120mins
Substitutes
- 2Mbabu
- 11Vargas
- 12Mvogo
- 15Sow
- 16Fassnacht
- 17Benito
- 19Gavranovic
- 20Fernandes
- 21Kobel
- 22Schär
- 25Cömert
- 26Lotomba
Spain
Formation 4-3-3
- 23Simón
- 2Azpilicueta
- 24LaporteBooked at 90mins
- 4TorresSubstituted forThiago Alcántaraat 113’minutes
- 18Alba
- 8KokeSubstituted forLlorenteat 90+2’minutes
- 5Busquets
- 26GonzálezSubstituted forRodriat 119’minutes
- 11TorresSubstituted forOyarzabalat 90’minutes
- 7MorataSubstituted forMorenoat 54’minutes
- 22SarabiaSubstituted forOlmoat 45’minutes
Substitutes
- 1de Gea
- 3Llorente
- 6Llorente
- 9Moreno
- 10Thiago Alcántara
- 12GarcÃa
- 13Sánchez
- 14GayÃ
- 16Rodri
- 19Olmo
- 20Traoré
- 21Oyarzabal
- Referee:
- Michael Oliver
- Attendance:
- 24,764
Live Text
Match ends, Switzerland 1(1), Spain 1(3).
Penalties over