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Subs: Raya, Vivian, Merino, Joselu, Olmo, Torres, Grimaldo, Remiro, Laporte, Baena, Zubimendi, Oyarzabal, Jesus Navas, Lopez, Perez.
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Croatia: Livakovic, Stanisic, Sutalo, Pongracic, Gvardiol, Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic, Majer, Budimir, Kramaric.
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Subs: Erlic, Labrovic, Vlasic, Perisic, Mario Pasalic, Petkovic, Ivanusec, Sosa, Pjaca, Vida, Juranovic, Ivusic, Marco Pasalic, Sucic, Baturina.
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Can they repeat their frequent World Cup heroics at a Euros? Luka Modric will again be relied upon to lead an ageing but always dangerous side, writes Aleksandar Holiga.
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Luis de la Fuente has built a young side around an experienced spine but can they recapture the glory years for La Roja? Words: David Álvarez and Juan I Irigoyen.
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The city of Berlin is the setting for today’s encounter between Spain and Croatia which, on paper at least, is one of the more mouthwatering clashes of these group stages, even if both teams will fancy their chances of advancing to the knockout stages, even if Italy and Albania may beg to differ.
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While they are renowned for repeatedly punching above their weight on the world stage, Croatia’s record at the European Championship is not gread and they have never advanced beyond the quarter-finals of this competition. This year could be no excpetion, as Zlatko Dalic’s ageing side have the air about them of The Expendables regrouping for one last job but only a fool would write them off.
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Having lost at home to Turkey and away to Wales in qualifying, their progress to these finals was not without its hiccups but they are here now and in Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic, have a potential starting midfield trio with 372 caps between them.
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Managed by Luis de la Fuente and skippered by Alvaro Morata, Spain come into these Euros with the whiff of scandal about them, its roots in the Luis Rubiales fiasco which followed the Women’s World Cup. With these issuses largely restricted to the corridors of power at the headquarters of the Spanish Football Federation, it’s to be hoped the efforts of their entirely blameless players were in any way tainted by association.
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A healthy mix of youth and experience, they will be looking to whelpish young bucks such as Pedri, Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal, as well as older heads such as Jesus Navas, Rodri, Dani Carvajal and their captain to help steer them through these group stages with a minimum of fuss. Kick-off at the Olympiastadion is at 5pm (BST) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
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Important Events
These teams: There are no surprises for Spain, with Nacho coming in for the injured Aymeric Laporte, while Lamine Yamal, aged 16 years and 322 days, will become the tournament’s youngest player in history.
Croatia’s line-up was largely as expected, with Ivan Perisic on the bench, Ante Budimir up front and Bruno Petkovic as one of the reserves.
Today’s Match Referee
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Judge: Michael Oliver
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assistant: Stuart Burt and Dan Cook
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Fourth Official: Anthony Taylor
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Video Assistant Referee: David Coote
Euro 2024 Innovation: Only the captains are allowed to speak to the umpires about their decisions; other players can approach the umpires and risk receiving a yellow card if they show any disrespect. This method has seemed to work well for the first two matches of the tournament, but we’ll see how long it lasts.
Spain vs Croatia lineup
Spain: Simon, Carvajal, Nacho, Le Normand, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Fabian, Yamal, Morata, Williams.
subtitles: Raya, Vivian, Merino, Joselu, Olmo, Torres, Grimaldo, Remiro, Laporte, Baena, Zubimendi, Oyarzabal, Jesus Navas, Lopez and Pérez.
Croatia: Rivakovic, Stanisic, Staro, Pongracic, Gvardior, Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic, Mayer, Budimir, Kramaric.
subtitles: Erlić, Lavrović, Vlasic, Perisic, Mario Pasalic, Petkovic, Ivanusek, Sosa, Pjaca, Vida, Djuranovic, Ivšić, Marko Pasalic, Sušić, Baturina.
Guardian Expert Network: Croatia
Can they repeat their repeated World Cup successes at the Euros? Luka Modric will once again be counted on to lead an ageing but always dangerous team, writes Aleksandar Horiga.
Guardian Expert Network: Spain
Luis de la Fuente has built a young squad around experienced key players, but can they recapture La Roja’s glory days? By David Alvarez and Juan Irigoyen
Latest team news: Lamine Yamal is expected to start for Spain today, with the 16-year-old Barcelona winger becoming the youngest player ever to take to the pitch at European Championships. Aymeric Laporte, just 14 years older than his younger teammate, missed Thursday’s training with a soft-tissue injury but is unlikely to be a doubt for the match. If Laporte is unable to play, Nacho will almost certainly take his place.
Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic has fielded a full line-up, although Ivan Perisic is unlikely to start. The Tottenham winger injured his cruciate ligament seven months ago and was loaned to his hometown club Hajduk Split in January. He will sign a one-year deal with the club when his contract with Tottenham expires at the end of this month. The 35-year-old Perisic has not played a full 90 minutes since returning from injury in early April.
Group B: Spain v Croatia
The city of Berlin is the setting for today’s match between Spain and Croatia, and while both teams believe they have a good chance of progressing to the knockout stages – Italy and Albania could argue the opposite – it promises to be one of the most fascinating matchups of the group stage, at least on paper.
Croatia are renowned for overachieving on the world stage but have a poor record at European Championships, never making it past the quarter-finals of the competition, and this year is no exception. Zlatko Dalic’s ageing team have the feel of The Expendables reuniting for one last job, but only a fool would write them off.
Their run to the final was not without its problems – they lost at home to Turkey and away to Wales in the qualifiers – but they now have a starting midfield trio in Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic who have a combined 372 caps between them.
Spain, under coach Luis de la Fuente and captain Alvaro Morata, go into the Euros under the smell of scandal that began with the blunders of Luis Rubiales after the Women’s World Cup. These issues are only a problem for those in power at the headquarters of the Spanish Football Federation, and one can only hope that they do not somehow taint the efforts of the players, who are entirely above reproach.
A good mix of youth and experience, with youngsters such as Pedri, Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal, and veterans such as Jesus Navas, Rodri and Dani Carvajal and the captain, will help them get through the group stage with the minimum of trouble. Kick-off at the Olympiastadion is at 5pm BST, but in the meantime, keep an eye on all the team news and preparations.
