A multi-nation tournament like Euro 2020 was supposed to be about breath-taking goals, and while that has come few and far between, the amount of own goals scored has earned it a name in the history books. With a major chunk of the tournament still left, the highlight of the tournament has been own goals and missed penalties.

Best own goal ever #EURO2020 #Spain #espcro #esp pic.twitter.com/ryu6ebhMBb

— INFINITE RED DEVILS (@INFINITEDEVILS) June 28, 2021

The Round of 16 knockout game between Croatia and Spain produced one such moment that any goalkeeper would want to forget. The 2010 World Cup winners dominated the possession and came close to scoring more than once in the first 19 minutes.

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With 20 minutes into the match, the deadlock was finally broken in the most bizarre fashion after a howler from Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon led to an astonishing own goal that gave Luka Modric’s side the lead.

Barcelona’s 18-year-old midfielder Pedri -- the youngest player ever to start a Euros knockout game --  played a simple back-pass to his goalie but somehow he missed the ball completely while trying to control it.

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By the time he could realise his mistake it was too late and all he could do was stand and watch the ball roll into the empty net. The no-so-forgiving social media troll army soon bombarded the micro-blogging site with hilarious memes of the bizarre goal.

Here are some of the gems:

Kepa watching from the bench as Unai Simon concedes from a 30 yard backpass#CROSPA #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/XBDZq2DtRC

— Kiran T-ierney (@mopeygooner) June 28, 2021

“Dubravka scored the most bizarre own goal you’ll see at #EURO2020”

Unai Simon: #ESP pic.twitter.com/eYxQWAHMzB

— SportPesa Kenya (@SportPesa) June 28, 2021

Unai Simon already been bullied by someone on his Wikipedia hahah pic.twitter.com/7g6SjSjOeT

— JC (@JoeyClayton1878) June 28, 2021

Unai Simon when the ball came to him #CROSPA #Spain #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/WoBDcNUqA8

— LFCfooty (@_FootballTwts) June 28, 2021

Degea looking at Spain coach after that own goal from Unai Simon.
Probably the best goal in the EURO🤣🤣#EURO2020 #CROESP pic.twitter.com/uML0AEfMir

— Dennis Omuya (@dennis_omuya98) June 28, 2021

Unai Simon after that goal #CROESP pic.twitter.com/vhooZdnPen

— The BTF Podcast (@TheBTFPodcast) June 28, 2021

Unai Simon gets a point for scoring from outside of the box🤣 pic.twitter.com/R842Q7I2Lu

— Sanjay KC (@Sanjay10kc) June 28, 2021

Unai Simon tonight: pic.twitter.com/v4hdZ17FqP

— Papi Magnifico (@BantzChesterUtd) June 28, 2021

Unai Simon first touch be like : #CROESP pic.twitter.com/aVevTdljWd

— Damzo (@10Damzo) June 28, 2021

Went to check Unai Simon’s Wikipedia and it’s been updated pic.twitter.com/U161QunIUI

— Kevin (@FcbKevin10) June 28, 2021

The funny part was while the world blamed the Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper for his disastrous mistake, the match officials went in the complete opposite direction and came to his rescue, crediting the own goal in poor Pedri’s account whose only mistake was that he trusted his goalkeeper to control the ball with acres of space in front of him and no real pressure from any of the charging opposition forwards.

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Simon, who was playing ahead of Manchester United star David de Gea, didn’t allow his blunder to get over his mind and redeemed himself by making a couple of great saves at crucial moments during the game and helped Spain book a place in the quarterfinals, winning the game 5-3 after extra time.

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“Unai gave a lesson to kids everywhere. Football is made up of errors and his reaction, making great saves, was an example of why we have such confidence in him,” Spain manager Luis Enrique said after the win.

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