Tips for match Spain — Croatia

The first truly top match in the Euro 2024 group stage will be the game between the national teams of Spain and Croatia. A very interesting confrontation between teams, one of which has not yet formed a new strong generation, and the second has top pensioners like Modric and Brozovic in its squad.

The Spanish national team has been in the process of restructuring for the second tournament in a row and still cannot find its style of play. The typical “tiki-taka” at the last big tournament did not give much result - yes, the passes are excellent, but these were more passes for the sake of a pass. The team captain Morata should not be in the starting lineup, the best young players are still too inexperienced, albeit very talented. Spain scores a lot - 25 goals in 8 matches in the qualifying group, despite the fact that the only outright “passengers” in the opponents were Cypriots.

Many can argue with us and the main argument will be “Look at the players there, a fusion of youth and experience”, but is this enough to beat a well-coordinated and experienced Croatia? I doubt it. Moreover, the old Croatian team has had a rest after the season and in the first match there should be enough strength to at least not lose.

The Croatian team did not get to the Euro without difficulty, because until the last round it was decided who would take 2nd place in the group. The Croats lost in the selection to both Wales and Turkey, and now they have their first match in the main stage ahead of them, and immediately with Spain. Considering that the Italian and Albanian teams are still playing in the group, the minimum task will be to not lose to the Spanish, then beat Albania and then see according to the circumstances what exactly is needed to get out of the group. Considering the average age of Croatia, the coach must very skillfully distribute the team's strengths. And the prospect of beating Italy, which is unclear what kind of team and what lineup it will play with, is somehow higher than the Spanish. So we expect an equal game with a small number of goals. And since the odds for a draw are quite high, you can take a risk and bet on the Croatians taking 1 point in the match with the Spaniards.

Sportwars.net forecast for the match Spain - Croatia, 1st round of the group stage, Euro 2024: X (Draw), odds 3.55.

Forecast for the exact score: 1-1, odds 5.6.