Good afternoon and welcome to live coverage of the third match from Euro 2024, and the first from Group B, between Spain, who go to Berlin’s Olympiastadion as winners of their qualification group, and Croatia who qualified as runners-up to Turkey, to whom they surprisingly lost at home as well as a shock defeat by Armenia.
Croatia’s pedigree at World Cups – third in 1998, second in 2018, third in 2022 – is not matched at the Euros since their dramatic debut as a nation in 1996 when they made the quarter-finals. In the last two continental tournaments they have been knocked out in the Round of 16 and go again with the core of veterans – the retirements of Ivan Rakitic and Mario Mandzukic notwithstanding – who drove them so far in Russia and Qatar. Luka Modric at 38, Ivan Perisic and Domago Vida at 35, Andrej Kamaric 32, Marcelo Brozovic, 31, and Mateo Kovacic at 30 continue to be mainstays, either with a century of caps or on the verge of becoming centurions.
Spain, by contrast, have a stellar Euros record – winners in 1964, 2008 and 2012 – and have, at least, superficially been on a rejuvenation trip under Luis de la Fuente who stepped up to the top job in succession to Luis Enrique after five years as U19 manager and four with the U21s. Calling up the wonderful 16-year-old Barcelona winger, Lamine Yamal, who is going to start today, and giving key roles to the 21-year-olds Pedri and Nico Williams and previously Gavi, who is out with an ACL injury, takes the headlines.
But he has also given a new lease of life to Jesus Navas, 38, Nacho and Joselu, 34, and Dani Carvajal, 31. Making Alvaro Morata, a mouse at Chelsea and Real Madrid, a lion at Juve and AtlĂ©tico, captain has been a masterstroke and he led them to victory in the Nations League last year… beating Croatia in the final but no’ but just as the Tykes say, on penalties after 120 minutes of stalemate at De Kuip. I suspect it will be just as tight today.Â