Croatia's Ivan Perisic scores his side's second goal during a Euro 2016 soccer match against Spain on June 21, 2016.Petr David Josek/The Associated Press
It's better to be lucky than good. It's better than that to be both.
Croatia deservedly beat Spain 2-1 on Tuesday. For a country that lionizes its sports triumphs like few others, this win may rank somewhere in the top tier.
A game of thrilling ambition and skill was tied at 1-1 when Spain was (incorrectly) awarded a late penalty. Sergio Ramos's shot was saved by Croatian goal keeper Danijel Subasic.
In the 87th minute, Ivan Perisic scored a remarkable counter-attacking goal. With the victory, Croatia won Group D.
Based on their body language, the Spaniards only seemed to understand in the final seconds how much more than a single game they were losing.
Because of results so far and the way the knockout rounds are set up, there were two paths out of Group D. One is a toboggan run. The other is climbing up a sheer cliff. Spain got the latter.
They've landed in the side of the playoff bracket that includes France, Germany and England. That's if they get by their round-of-16 opponent, Italy, on Monday night.
A week ago, you would've liked the look of that matchup as a potential final. Now, because of Spain's slip, one of the tournament's best three or four teams will be going home shockingly early.
In all, the eight countries in Spain's end of the knockouts have won 11 World Cups and nine of 14 European championships.
By contrast, Croatia is in the half of the draw that includes Poland, Switzerland and Wales. With a victory over a turgid Austrian side tomorrow, Iceland could slot into that outsider batch as a group winner.
None of those sides has ever won a Euro. Or been in a final. Or been in a semi-final. Two of them – Wales and Iceland – have never before been in a Euro, full-stop.
Formidable squads from Belgium and Portugal could end up in there by tomorrow. But given the way both of those teams have played so far, one of two pathways to a championship game is wide open.
What it guarantees is that this will not be the usual stroll into the semis for the familiar powerhouses. Giants will fall at every stage.
So the only undisputed winners on the night? Croatia and neutral fans.
Cathal Kelly