Spain avoided an early Euro 2024 scare against Georgia to make it into the quarter-finals with a 4-1 comeback victory in Cologne.
Rodri cancelled out Robin Le Normand's 18th-minute own goal before the break on Sunday, and a spirited Spain rallied in the second half to leave Georgia powerless.
Fabian Ruiz fired Spain into the lead shortly after the break, with Nico Williams and Dani Olmo making sure of the victory late on to end Georgia's fairytale run at this European Championship.
Luis de la Fuente's side will next face the hosts Germany in a marquee quarter-final meeting in Stuttgart on Friday.
Giorgi Mamardashvili was the most worked goalkeeper in the group stages, and he was called into early action against Spain, making two early saves to deny Pedri and Dani Carvajal.
La Roja were stunned shortly after as they conceded for the first time in the tournament – Le Normand was unfortunate to turn Otar Kakabadze's whipped cross into the back of his own net.
Mamardashvili remained alert when Spain upped the pressure again, getting down sharply to keep out Marc Cucurella's low strike before pushing away Williams' curler.
The Georgia goalkeeper was left helpless moments later though, when an unmarked Rodri picked out the bottom-right corner from the edge of the box for his first major tournament goal.
Spain survived an early warning after the break as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia audaciously tried to catch out Unai Simon from the halfway line, but his hopeful effort bounced narrowly wide.
Fabian flipped the script shortly after, peeling off the back of Georgia’s backline to thump a header past Mamardashvili from point-blank range following Lamine Yamal's sumptuous delivery.
Yamal, desperate to get on the scoresheet himself, almost capitalised on a mistake by Georgia's defence but dragged another attempt narrowly wide of Mamardashvili's goal.
Giorgi Gvelesiani's blushes were spared by a tight offside call as he turned another dangerous Yamal cross into his own net, though Spain would soon extend their lead.
Williams raced forward on the counter down the left flank, leaving his marker in his tracks before rifling his right-footed rocket into the roof of the net 15 minutes from time.
Olmo added some more gloss to the scoreline in the 83rd minute, latching onto Mikel Oyarzabal's throughball to nestle his shot into the bottom corner and send Spain coasting into the last eight.
The kids are alright
It may have been a couple of the older players in Spain's squad that got the all-important goals in Cologne, but La Roja's youngsters continued to shine.
Yamal became the first teenager since Cristiano Ronaldo at Euro 2004 to assist multiple goals (two) at a single edition of the competition, while only Fabian managed as many shots as the winger's seven.
Meanwhile, Pedri made his fourth start in the knockout stages of the Euros, the most of any player aged 21 or under in the competition's history.
It is the second time Williams has both scored and assisted in a game for Spain, with the other also coming against Georgia in September 2023.
With Williams also getting his first assist in the tournament, it looks like the youngsters are on course to keep leading the team forward as they prepare to meet the hosts in Stuttgart.
Georgia's fairytale cut short
After pulling off a stunning victory over Euro 2016 winners Portugal in their final Group F game, Georgia came into the last 16 with another upset in mind.
It looked like that could be possible too, as they took another early lead, all despite not having a shot in the game up to that point.
Mamardashvili had saved 21 of the 22 shots on target he had faced prior to Rodri's goal, but he was helpless as Spain upped the pressure on Sunday.
William Sagnol's team go out with their heads held high despite their exit, after a debut tournament to remember.
O'Neil confident Wolves will overachieve this season despite Newcastle setback
Gary O'Neil is confident Wolves will overachieve again in the Premier League this season despite falling to a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle on Sunday.
Mario Lemina had given the hosts a half-time lead, only for Fabian Schar and Harvey Barnes' long-range efforts completing the turnaround for the Magpies.
Wolves have now failed to win any of their opening four league games this term and occupy the final place in the bottom three.
Their single point against Nottingham Forest makes this their joint-worst start to a Premier League campaign, along with 2003-04, when they were relegated in last place.
O'Neil's side have now also lost six of their last seven league games at Molineux, losing more games on home turf in 2024 than any other team in the top-flight (eight).
But the Wolves head coach, who oversaw a 14th-place finish in his debut campaign at the helm last year, is confident his players will find their groove.
"We have better depth, of course. The run is the run. The team should be judged on what they did for the whole of last season.
"I am sure we will overachieve what many people will expect of us this season.
"Everyone is desperate for our first win. That was close to being our best today.
"We have gone up against a side that have spent an awful lot of money and were in the Champions League.
"There are not a lot of teams that can go against Newcastle and look the most likely to win."
There were positives for O'Neil to take from the defeat, however, most notably the performance of new addition Andre in central midfield.
The Brazilian completed all 40 of his passes against Newcastle, the most on record by a player on their first ever Premier League start without misplacing one (since 2003-04).
"Very good, he's a good player obviously. New system today with the three midfielders in. An awful lot of positives," O'Neil said.
"Of course the only positives that people are interested in is points.
"From my point of view, to have come up with a new structure for the team and for it to look how it did against Newcastle was a big plus for us."
Al-Ittihad 7-1 Al-Wehda: Benzema treble keeps hosts perfect
Karim Benzema's hat-trick helped Al-Ittihad maintain their perfect start to the Saudi Pro League season as they thrashed Al-Wehda 7-1 on Saturday.
Benzema opened the scoring in stunning fashion with just two minutes on the clock, curling a fine effort beyond the grasp of Ignacio de Arruabarrena.
Houssem Aouar doubled the hosts' advantage, only for Youssef Amyn to half the deficit before Fabinho's header in the fourth minute of first-half injury time gave Laurent Blanc's side a comfortable advantage at the break.
Benzema struck again shortly after the restart to notch his second of the encounter before Fawaz Al Yami netted Al-Ittihad's fifth nine minutes later.
Substitute Saleh Al Shehri thought he had concluded the scoring in the 87th minute, but Benzema was not to be denied his treble.
The Frenchman was provided with the simplest of finishes after Moussa Diaby's cross into his path, with the former Aston Villa man laying on four assists during the game.
Data Debrief: French connection
An emphatic triumph for the hosts saw them register an expected goals (xG) tally of 3.69 from their 15 shots, as their French forwards took centre-stage.
Benzema contributed 1.29 xG to the hosts' total, with the Frenchman having more shots on target (five) and playing more passes in the final third (30) than any other player.
But his compatriot Diaby also impressed.
The 25-year-old ended the encounter having created more chances (five) than anyone on the pitch, with his eight touches in the opposition box the joint-most alongside Benzema.
Conte hails 'atypical' Lukaku after flying start to Napoli career
Napoli coach Antonio Conte heaped praise on Romelu Lukaku after he scored and provided two assists in their dominant 4-0 victory at Cagliari on Sunday.
Lukaku was reunited with his former Inter boss Conte, under whom he scored 24 goals as the Nerazzurri won the Scudetto in 2020-21, ahead of Napoli loaning wantaway striker Victor Osimhen to Galatasaray this month.
He has made a flying start to life in Naples, netting in a 2-1 win over Parma ahead of the international break, then getting on the scoresheet again as Cagliari were swatted aside on matchday four.
He also laid on assists for Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, just the third time he has scored and provided multiple assists in a single game in Europe's top five leagues. Two of those instances have come under Conte.
Speaking to Sky Sports Italia after Sunday's game, Conte outlined why he was so keen to bring Lukaku in.
"I have always said that I wanted Romelu at Inter, had also requested him at Chelsea before he went to Manchester United, because he is an atypical striker," Conte said.
"He is extremely tall and physically strong, but also very good at sprinting forward. His condition is still nowhere near optimal, but he becomes fundamental for us."
The victory took Napoli top of the table ahead of Inter's trip to Monza later on Sunday, with the Partenopei registering three straight wins after starting with a humiliating 3-0 loss at Verona.
Conte, however, has dismissed suggestions his team are ready to compete for the Scudetto, saying they have plenty more work to do.
"I do feel that at the moment all teams are settling down still, as the transfer window closed late and we are all trying to find our shape," Conte said.
"We need to keep improving on duels all over the field, keeping focused and concentrated, because that is what you require in Serie A.
"We’ve worked hard over the last two and a half months, we’ve got to put on the blinkers and keep pushing forward without looking at anyone else."
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