At Berlin’s Olympiastadion, site of next month’s championship match, Spain will take on Croatia in the opening match of their quest for a fourth European Championship title. Italy, the reigning champion, and Albania are the other teams in the group. On Saturday, kickoff is at 7 p.m. Qatar Time (1600 GMT). This is what you need know about the game:
Match details: At the European Championship, Spain and Croatia will face off for the fourth time in their history. In the round of 16 of Euro 2020, Spain defeated Croatia 5-3 in extra time to advance past them. In order to win the UEFA Nations League the previous year, Spain also defeated Croatia on penalties.
– The 38-year-old Luka Modrić, who will be participating in his sixth competition, is once again the captain of Zlatko Dalić’s Croatia side. After Real Madrid won both the Spanish league and the Champions League, Modrić now plays for his country.
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– Real Sociedad forward Mikel Oyarzabal scored four goals in the two games as Spain defeated Northern Ireland and Andorra to start the tournament.
– Croatia warmed up with an encouraging win over Portugal.
– Spain midfielder Dani Olmo played for Croatian power Dinamo Zagreb between 2014-20. During this time, he played with Croatia players Dominik Livaković, Bruno Petković, Lovro Majer, Josip Šutalo, Joško Gvardiol, Luka Ivanušec, Marko Pjaca and Borna Sosa. Dalić acknowledged he would have liked the 26-year-old Olmo to play for Croatia, instead.
– It’s the first match of Euro 2024 in the German capital, where enthusiasm for the tournament has been slow to build.
– Spain is placing its faith in youngsters Lamine Yamal (16) and Nico Williams (21).
Team news – Spain coach Luis de la Fuente dropped Barcelona teenager Pau Cubarsí and midfielders Marcos Llorente and Aleix García from his final 26-man squad for the tournament. García has since joined Bundesliga winner Bayer Leverkusen. De la Fuente opted instead for Real Betis forward Ayoze Pérez and 21-year-old Barcelona midfielder Fermín López.
– De la Fuente said on Friday that defender Aymeric Laporte will not play, though he insisted the defender was not injured and “just had some issues. And I decided that we wouldn’t take the risk. So he’s not going to play tomorrow. It’s a precautionary measure.” De la Fuente added Olmo was injury-free and an option for Saturday’s match.
– Croatia counterpart Zlatko Dalić reported no injury worries.
By the numbers – Spain has won five of the countries’ previous 10 meetings, with Croatia winning three.
– Only Germany (14 appearances) has played more times at a European Championship than Spain (12), while Croatia is making its seventh appearance overall, and its sixth straight.
– Croatia’s heaviest defeat came against Spain in September 2011, when the Spanish won 6-0 in the Nations League.
– Spain previously won the tournament in 1964, 2008 and 2012, when it became the only country to successfully defend its title.
What they’re saying “We know that the first game is important, it’s important to start on the right foot. But we’ve already seen that many teams win a big tournament after losing the first game, so there’s need to be anxious. It’s obvious that we’re going to go out to win and we’re not going to leave anything behind, we’re going to play with a lot of enthusiasm. We’re very young and we’re very eager for it to start.” – Spain forward Pedri.
“We’ve played Spain quite a few times. The game has always been close, and I have no doubt that it will be again this time. Borna Sosa was left back by Croatia.
“Our group is the hardest. That is true. Everyone acknowledges that. Spain and Italy. It’s crucial to keep in mind our encounter with Morocco in the opening World Cup game in Qatar. The fact that it was a draw was crucial to our ability to continue. Therefore, we want to win this game. Still, this is not our goal. We want to compete with all of our might, get off to a strong start, and win with the utmost respect for our opponents, who have a fantastic national team. However, we have no fear of anyone. – Croatia coach Zlatko Dalić.
