Global football fans around the world can’t wait for the start of the 2024 Euro Championship, especially Group B, which is considered by many to be the group of death in this tournament. Spain will take on Croatia in an exciting first-round matchup, as both teams have had some interesting clashes in the last few years.
| ℹ️ Tournament: | UEFA Euro Championship 2024, Group B, First Round |
| 🏟️ Venue: | Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany |
| 🗓️ Date: | 15 June 2024 |
| ⏰ Time: | 4 p.m. GMT on Saturday |
Those who want to bet on Euro football probably expected to see Spain as the slight favorites, with the odds of winning the game at 1.95 (Evs). A draw is offered at 3.50 (5/2), while Croatia will be the underdogs at 4.50 (7/2) to beat La Roja in the first game in Group B.
| Group B Teams | Standings | Matches Played | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 1st | 0 | 0 |
| Croatia | 2nd | 0 | 0 |
| Spain | 3rd | 0 | 0 |
| Albania | 4th | 0 | 0 |
The top two teams in Group B will qualify directly for the playoffs. Spain and Italy are the top two favorites to qualify before the start of the tournament, while Croatia are also favorites to qualify through the best third-place teams. As we explained in the Euro 24 Group B Preview, Albanians are expected to struggle in the group of death; even a single point can be a success.
This matchup has been slightly going in La Roja’s favor in the last decade, as in the last five head-to-head games, Spain won three (including a win on penalties in the Nations League finals), and Croatia won twice. Spain knocked out Vatreni in the round of 16 in the last edition of the Euro 2020, which was played in 2021 because of COVID-caused delay.
Spain have been very impressive with their rebuild after the 2022 World Cup. They have topped their Euro 2024 qualifying group by winning seven of their eight games. La Roja scored 25 goals in the qualifications and managed to concede only five, which is very good considering they faced teams like Scotland and Norway twice each.
La Roja are the fifth favorite to win the title on the odds for Euro 24 football. They have some promising talents like Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Pedri, in addition to the experienced players Rodri, Daniel Carvajal, and Alvaro Morata. Due to injuries, Spain will miss two important midfielders, Isco Alarcon and Gavs, but they have other quality players to replace them.
Croatia were the dark horses in most of the major tournaments lately, and that’s why they are considered in the main contenders category now. They finished third in the World Cup 2022 and second in the World Cup 2018, so it couldn’t go better than that for the Blazers when they were big underdogs in most of their matches. They finished second in the 2024 Euro qualifying group, one point below Turkey.
This is most likely the last Euro for their veteran Luka Modric, who will be playing his fifth edition with Vatreni. Luka completes a pretty good midfield with Marcelo Brozovic and Mateo Kovacic, and they are expected to have a lot of possession with this trio. Their strength also comes from Zlatko Dalic, who proved to be one of the best managers in international football matchups.
2 (100%)
0
Spain looked like a team that was ready to dominate in their friendlies before the Euros. They have won both games, scoring 10 goals and conceding only once. La Roja match up well with Croatia, as they also have a pretty good midfield, but the difference is that Spain have much better defense and bench.
The bet on Euro 24 group stage has Spain as the favorite to win Group B, so they can’t afford to drop points here before the big clash with Italy in their next match. Croatia also shouldn’t drive at all cylinders and can simply afford a minimum defeat so keep qualifying chances high.
1 (50%)
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This matchup can easily turn into a goal-feast, given how good their offenses are. Croatia have scored 12 goals in their last six games, and they managed to score at least one goal in six of their last eight Euro matches. Spain just can’t stop scoring lately, as they have scored 22 goals in their last six official games, which is an average of 3.66 goals per game in that period. With little pressure in the opening game of the group stage, both teams can focus more on offense than defense.
2 (100%)
0
Lovro Majer scored a brace to lead Croatia to a 3-0 win over North Macedonia last week, and he is in top form right now. The Croatian star has had six shots on target in his last five starts for the team, so there’s value in going with him to get at least one more against Spain. Croatia are one of those teams that shoots a lot from outside the box, and Majer has had success in that with Wolfsburg this season as well.
This will be one of the most entertaining group stage matches in the 2024 Euros, and we will be going with both teams scoring, with La Roja having the advantage. Make sure you use our 2024 Spain vs Croatia betting predictions and bet them at the legal bookies in Europe to have more fun watching the game.
