Croatia has never advanced past the quarterfinals of this competition, while Spain has won the European Championship three times and advanced to the semifinals of Euro 2020.
Although Spain isn’t considered a favourite to win Euro 2024, this great team has all the necessary skills to win this summer. The other four favourites are Portugal, France, Germany, and England.
La Roja won the European Championship in 1964, 2008, and 2012. They advanced to the Euro 2020 semifinals but lost to Italy, the eventual winners, on penalties. The two sides will face off again in Group B of the competition, with Albania also competing in a very competitive group.
It would be surprising if Croatia, Italy, and Spain were absent from the competition’s knockout round. There is a chance to get past the group stage with a third-place finish.
Every point will probably matter in this group as Luis de la Fuente’s team plays Italy in their second Group B match on June 20 and Albania in their last match four days later.
Spain has defeated Croatia in six of their last ten meetings, including a penalty shootout victory in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League final between the two sides.
Croatia’s Story
Croatia has an extremely impressive World Cup record, having finished as runners-up in 2018 and third in the competition in Qatar in 2022.
The national team’s best-ever results in the competition occurred in 1996 and 2008 when they made it to the quarterfinals. However, in their past two trips to the European Championship, they were eliminated in the round of 16.
With nine goals in their last three games, Zlatko Dalic’s team has only lost two of their previous ten games in all competitions.
Although Kockasti will undoubtedly be aware of how difficult this phase will be for them, the national team hopes to score enough points to move on to the next round.
Match Details
Date: Saturday, June 15, 2024
Time: 9:30 PM IST
Location: Olympiastadion Berlin
TV: Sony Six
Live Stream: Sony LIV
Lineup Prediction
Spain possible starting lineup: Simon; Carvajal, Le Normand, Nacho, Grimaldo; Ruiz, Rodri, Pedri; Yamal, Morata, Williams
Croatia possible starting lineup: Livakovic; Stanisic, Sutalo, Pongracic, Gvardiol; Brozovic, Kovacic, Modric; Majer, Budimir, Kramaric
Also Read: How to watch Euro 2024 Live Streaming free Online, TV Broadcast list
Who will win?
Spain 1-2 Croatia
It’s really difficult to predict this game; at first, we thought Spain would win by a narrow margin before opting for a scoreless tie. Given their recent World Cup performances, Croatia deserves a great deal of respect, and we think Dalic’s team will be competitive enough to win over La Roja in their division opener.
