Gdansk, Poland – Jesus Navas came off the bench to score in the 88th minute on Monday, lifting Spain to a 1-0 win over Croatia that allows Spain to win Group C.
A 0-0 draw combined with Italy's 2-0 victory over Ireland would have pushed Spain into second place, but Navas rescued his side a few minutes from time to knock Croatia out of the tournament on a tiebreaker, with Italy finishing second.
Spain will now face the second-place team from Group D on Saturday in the quarterfinal round.
Chances were at a premium, especially in the first half, as Spain was limited to a handful of long-range efforts that didn't really trouble goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa, who was really only forced into action once in the first 45 minutes as he kept out a tight-angle shot from Fernando Torres with his legs.
Spain dominated possession, as usual, but Croatia managed to generate a great chance just before the hour mark when Luka Modric crossed to the back post for a wide open Ivan Rakitic, who headed the ball straight at goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
It was a golden chance for Croatia, and Casillas was called upon again with 11 minutes to play when he got down to keep out a volley from substitute Ivan Perisic.
Despite creating few scoring opportunities, Spain dug down and found the winning a goal a few minutes time as Andres Iniesta timed his run perfectly and dashed into the penalty area, where brought down a lobbed pass and squared the ball to Navas, who walked it into the empty net.
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.