Euro 2020 will light up once again on Monday when two familiar foes in Spain and Croatia square off against each other at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen. Denmark. The last time they met at the European Championships, Croatia registered an impressive come-from-behind 2-1 win. This time, however, they are expected to face a stern test as Spain comes into this game on the back of a scintillating 5-0 win against Slovakia. La Roja finished second in their group with 5 points, having played out a 1-1 draw against Poland and a goalless finish against Sweden.
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They face their toughest challenge yet against a resurgent Croatia side led by the evergreen Luka Modric. They started the tournament with 0-1 defeat to eventual group toppers England, played out a 1-1 draw against Czech Republic, and then sealed their last 16 berth in style with a thumping 3-1 win over Scotland. Eventually, the Croats finished second and their previous game shows that the players have hit top gear at the right time.
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Ahead of the mouth-watering clash, let’s have a look at their head-to-head rivalry:
1. Croatia last faced Spain in any competition during the 2018-19 EFA Nations League. While the Croatians won the most recent of those two meetings (3-2 in November 2018), they lost the other 6-0 in September 2018, a result that remains their heaviest ever defeat in international football.
2. This will be Croatia and Spain’s third major tournament meeting, with both previous such clashes coming in Europe Championship group stages. Both sides won once each: Spain in 2012 and Croatia in 2016.
3. After winning EURO 2008, the 2010 World Cup, and EURO 2012, Spain have since been eliminated from both of their last two major tournament knockout round matches (World Cup/EUROs): the last 16 stages of EURO 2016 (v Italy) and the 2018 World Cup (v Russia). Spain last suffered elimination in three consecutive such knockout stage participations when doing so across the 1994 World Cup, EURO 1996 and EURO 2000.4. In what is their sixth European Championship tournament, Croatia have made it through to the knockout stages for a fourth time. However, they have failed to progress beyond the first knockout games on each of the previous three occasions (quarter-final in 1996 and 2008 and last 16 in 2016)
5. Spain boasted a higher Expected Goals (xG) total than any other side in the EURO 2020 group stage *8.8), although only Scotland (3 – 1 goal from 4 xG) underperformed their xG by a higher total than the Spaniards (2.8 – 6 goals from 8.8 xG). Indeed, the two players who underperformed most based on xG in the group stage were Spanish – Gerard Moreno (0 goals from 2.1 xG) and Alvaro Morata (1 goal from 2.9 xG)
FORM GUIDE:
Luis Enrique’s Spain currently enjoy a six-match unbeaten run in all competitions. They have drawn and won three of their last games. (WDWDDW)
On the other hand, the Croats have experienced a mixed bag of results in their previous six games in all competitions, having won, drawn, and lost two matches each. (WDLLDW)
