EURO 2024: Spain vs Croatia Live
Preview: Spain vs Croatia
Spain vs Croatia, the first game of Group B at the upcoming EURO 2024, will kick off at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Saturday at 4:00pm. Spain has won the European Championship three times and reached the semi-finals of Euro 2020, whereas Croatia has never advanced beyond the quarter-finals in this tournament.
Luis de la Fuente’s team is considered the favorites for this upcoming match. They topped their qualifying group by winning seven out of eight matches and only conceding five goals. Spain also won their last two friendly matches by scoring five goals in each against Andorra and Northern Ireland. However, their defense has been a concern as they have only kept one clean sheet in their last six games. This vulnerability has been evident in recent head-to-head matches, with Croatia scoring three goals in two out of the last three meetings against Spain.
Croatia faced difficulties during the qualifying rounds but managed to secure the runner-up position in their group behind Turkey, accumulating 16 points from eight games (with five wins, one draw, and two losses). Prior to heading to Germany, they continued their strong form by winning all four of their friendly matches, including an impressive 2-1 victory over Portugal.
As they prepare for what could be the last major international tournament for many of their experienced players, Croatia will be under pressure to perform well and navigate through a challenging group that includes Italy and Albania. Croatia has a history of performing well in major tournaments, having advanced from their last four group stages and finishing as runners-up and in third place in the last two World Cups.
Head-to-head
Spain has only won one of their last five matches against Croatia in regular time. A year ago, Spain defeated Croatia in the UEFA Nations League final through a penalty shootout.
Predidiction
This match is difficult to predict, but after considering Spain as potential winners, we settled on a prediction of a draw. Croatia’s impressive World Cup showings deserve recognition, and we think they will secure a point in their first match against Spain.
