At 23:00 on June 15th, the Spanish and Croatian national teams will face each other in the first match of Group B of EURO 2024, a group considered as the group of death with the presence of 3 giants. As both teams have been in excellent form leading up to this tournament, it won’t be easy to predict who will have the upper hand in this exciting opening match.
Expert opinions on the match between Spain and Croatia
The Spanish national team is still struggling to regain the lost glory since the golden generation period of 2008-2012. After a series of major disappointments in previous tournaments, La Roja is bringing hope to the fans at EURO 2024 with a talented generation, a combination of promising talents and experienced veterans. After confidently topping their qualifying group for EURO 2024, Spain continued to demonstrate their strength in friendly matches. Most recently, the team defeated Andorra and Northern Ireland with scores of 5-0 and 5-1 respectively, preparing perfectly for the opening match against Croatia.
Equally determined, Croatia has also shown excellent psychological preparation with a streak of 5 consecutive victories before the upcoming major tournament in Germany. In their most recent match, Luka Modric and his teammates even defeated the powerhouse Portugal with a score of 2-1 on the opponent’s home ground. This result is a message to their opponents at EURO 2024 not to underestimate their relatively older squad. Both Spain and Croatia have had impressive attacking performances recently. While the team led by coach Luis De La Fuente scored 16 goals in 5 matches, Croatia under the guidance of Zlatko Dalic also achieved an impressive 11 goals. This sets the stage for fans to expect a goal feast from both teams on June 15th.
A brief overview of the historical head-to-head records of Spain and Croatia
In recent years, Spain and Croatia have had encounters in major continental-level tournaments. The results have shown a balance of power between the two teams, with each winning 2 of the last 5 matches. The most recent match ended in a draw before La Roja defeated the checkered team in a penalty shootout to win the UEFA Nations League 2023 title.
Examining the odds from bookmakers for the match between Spain and Croatia
Since being managed by coach Luis De La Fuente, fans have witnessed a very different side of Spain. No longer the indecisive passing under Luis Enrique, the red-clad team is now an attacking, fast-paced, and diverse team. Their matches bring a lively and aggressive tempo.
However, a challenge could come for Spain when facing Croatia, a team with the ability to control the ball and force opponents to follow their pace. Just recently, midfielders Modric and Kovacic suffocated Portugal’s midfield. This should serve as a wake-up call for Rodri and his teammates to find a way to cope.
- Over goals: In the last 5 recent matches between the two teams, there have been 4 matches with more than 3 goals. Combined with the impressive goal-scoring form of both attacks recently, the over 2/2.5 odds are completely within reach.
- Under corner kicks: When it comes to Spain and Croatia, people will immediately think of two teams with impressive strength in the midfield. It is likely that in this match, the ball will mainly be in the midfield with the control of the top midfielders from both teams. It will be difficult for the audience to witness many corner kicks in this match.
- Spain -0.5: With the extremely impressive form of Spain recently, although Croatia is also a formidable opponent, they may not be able to resist that strength. There is a high possibility that Luis De La Fuente’s army will still get 3 points in the first match of this campaign.
Information about the squads of Spain vs Croatia
Both teams have full squads
Predicted lineups for Spain vs Croatia match
- Spain (4-3-3): Unai Simon, Carvajal, Laporte, Le Normand, Grimaldo, Rodri, Pedri, Fabian Ruiz, Lamine Yamal, Morata, Williams.
- Croatia (4-3-3): Livakovic, Stanisic, Sutalo, Pongracic, Gvardiol, Brozovic, Modric, Kovacic, Kramaric, Budimir, Perisic.
Prediction for the match result: Spain 3-1 Croatia.
