Champion Spain lost for the first time in 15 matches at the European Championship Finals Tuesday when Croatia beat it 2-1 to win Group D at Euro 2016. Ivan Perisic scored the winner with three minutes left after Croatia keeper Danijel Subasic had saved a penalty from Spain captain Sergio Ramos with 20 minutes remaining. Croatia's Nikola Kalinic had cancelled out an early goal from Spain striker Alvaro Morata in the first half. Spain meets Group E winner Italy in a heavyweight last-16 tie Monday in Paris — a rematch of the 2012 final — while Croatia will play one of the third-placed teams in Lens Saturday. Meanwhile in Lens, Burak Yilmaz and Ozan Tufan scored a goal in each half as Turkey beat Czech Republic 2-0 to keep alive slim hopes of reaching the last 16. The defeat eliminated Czech Republic. Turkey had lost its first two Group D matches. Spain's path suddenly looks more perilous. Not only do Italy stand in the champions' way in the round of 16. World champion Germany is then potential quarterfinal opponent, while host France and England also lie in wait as possible semifinal opposition. Kalinic's goal just before the break was the first goal conceded by Spain in 948 minutes of European Championship matches since October 2014. Croatia's excellence and commitment in battling back from behind condemned a jaded Spain, going for a third straight title, to its first defeat in a European Championship Finals since it was beaten 1-0 by Portugal in the 2004 group stages. It was the Spanish who struck decisively in the seventh minute with a goal that encapsulated the technical prowess, the movement and the vision that sets them apart from the rest of this summer's contenders. David Silva drove inside before sending a delicious reverse pass out to Cesc Fabregas, whose diagonal run across the box went unnoticed by everyone else. His cross was met by Morata, arriving at the back post, and on the day that his move back to Real Madrid from Juventus was announced, the striker touched home for his third of the tournament, moving level with top scorer Gareth Bale. But Croatia held tight and steadily began to rediscover their early menace. With Spain eyeing a second, it was Croatia who struck, as Perisic's cross found Kalinic, stealing in ahead of Ramos, who flicked the ball past De Gea with the outside of his foot. Croatinas left fuming at an unjust penalty in the 72nd minute when Silva, chasing a delicious lofted ball from Andres Iniesta, fell under imperceptible pressure from Sime Vrsaljko. Captain Ramos sent a hesitant spot kick down the center of the goal and Subasic, advancing well off his line before the shot, was able to bat it away as justice was served. Toward the end a Spanish foray forward was halted abruptly and Marko Pjaca surged on the counter before laying the ball off to Perisic, whose low shot, aided by the merest deflection, evaded De Gea at his near post as Croatia were able to celebrate a famous win. In Lens, 18-year-old Emre Mor burst down the right after 10 minutes, saw Yilmaz in the middle and provided a perfect ball for the Beijing Guoan player to fire the ball into the corner. Turkish goalkeeper Volkan Babacan produced a series of brilliant saves to keep his side in the game. He also had some luck when Tomas Sivok's header came off the crossbar. The Czech Republic pressed forward but Turkey struck a killer blow on 65 minutes. Selcuk Inan put across a free kick that Mehmet Topal headed back and Tufan smashed a tight angle shot that powered past Petr Cech. The three points ensured that Turkey could still reach the last 16, at least until the final round of group matches Wednesday. It will need results to go their way in the Group E games to pull off the miracle.
