Spain 1 Croatia 0:Substitute Jesus Navas tapped home two minutes from time in Gdansk to snatch victory and send holders Spain through to the last eight as Group C winners.

The goal was tough on Croatia and they probably had the best chance of the game before Spain’s goal when Iker Casillas brilliantly blocked Ivan Rakitic’s close-range header in the 59th minute.

However, as the game opened up in the latter stages, Spain substitute Cesc Fabregas and fellow midfielder Andres Iniesta were able to carve open the Croatian defence and Andres Iniesta squared the ball for Navas to tap home into an empty net.

“It was a very tense match, very tough,” said Spain coach Vicente del Bosque. “They closed ranks at the back very well and didn’t give us much space. We threw on Cesc (Fabregas) because we needed not only possession of the ball but someone to get forward into goalscoring situations.”

Goalscorer Navas added: “It was a tough match and they managed to play their game well. It was difficult to penetrate their defences. We are the kind of players who go all out for victory because that is what we believe in and what we want.”