Euro 2020: Spain overcome Switzerland on penalties, reach semis
In a dramatic penalty shootout, Spain captain Sergio Busquets stepped up first but hit the left post.
After excelling for Manchester United in the Premier League for the past couple of seasons, David de Gea was expected to do the same for Spain at the 2018 FIFA World Cup but the custodian had a tournament to forget as La Roja crashed out at the last-16 stage to hosts Russia.
For Jose Mourinho’s side, de Gea is accustomed to saving almost everything that’s thrown at him, but for his country the 27-year-old was a pale reflection of himself as he struggled to put a disastrous opening game against Portugal behind him.
While Igor Akinfeev saved two penalties in the shootout against Spain, De Gea failed to save even one and was panned by media and fans alike for his sub-par displays between the sticks.
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The 6’3 shot-stopper took to Instagram to express his dismay of failing to make the latter stages of quadrennial tournament in Russia:
After conceding three in the opening game against Portugal, de Gea managed to keep a clean sheet as Spain beat Iran 1-0 in the next game.
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Their final Group-stage tie against Morocco didn’t go according to plan, however, as the Iberians were lucky to salvage a 2-2 draw.
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Against Russia, Spain started brightly but faded and struggled to break down the host nation’s defence to cap off another disappointing World Cup showing for the 2010 winners.
While the Russians will prepare for a quarter-final clash against tournament dark horses Croatia, de Gea and his teammates have flown back to Spain.
After a brief period of rest, the custodian is expected to link up with his United teammates as preparations for the 2017-18 season get underway.
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