The second Euro 2024 fixture on Saturday comes to us from Group B, where both Spain and Croatia will kick off their campaigns. As this won’t be an easy group to dominate, both will be looking to make a good start, that’s for sure. Read on for our Spain vs Croatia predictions.
Spain vs Croatia prediction
For the Spain vs Croatia match prediction, we believe the final score will be a 2-2 draw based on our analysis. The Spanish have lots of quality going forward and they’ve been in great scoring form recently, but this is a very useful Croatian side, one that has scored goals against top teams of late and one that very rarely gives up the fight.
Don’t be surprised if the Croats threaten, both on the break and from set pieces, even if they are up against a fierce-looking Spain attack.
Our Spain vs Croatia predictions, as explained below, are as follows:
Ante Budimir to Score @ 4/1 with bet365
Nico Williams Over 0.5 Assists @ 4/1 with bet365
Spain vs Croatia betting odds
Spain vs Croatia head-to-head statistics
Familiar foes, the Spanish and the Croats have locked horns several times in recent years. They last played in the UEFA Nations League semi-finals back in 2023, drawing 0-0, before Spain prevailed via a penalty shootout. In 2021, Spain won by five goals to three in a thriller at Euro 2020.
Since 2016, the pair have met five times, producing two Croatian victories in Croatia inside 90 minutes, two Spanish wins in 90 minutes, and two 90-minutes draws, both of which saw Spain advance after extra-time/penalties.
Spain vs Croatia preview
This match will take place on 15/06/2024 at Olympiastadion in Berlin at 17:00 GMT.
This is a big one for the Spanish. After some relatively modest tournament efforts (at best), La Roja, who dominated world football between 2008 and 2012, will be looking to get back to being somewhere near the best in the business.
We're no longer looking at the Spain of old. Not only are the likes of David Villa, Xavi and Iniesta long gone, but there’s no Busquets, no Jordi Alba and no Pique.
Nowadays, though perhaps a little less easy on the eye, with slightly more combative players in certain areas, there’s more pace and directness, with youngsters Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams bringing plenty of both.
They’ll head to the tournament off the back of high-scoring and rampant wins against both Andorra and Northern Ireland, but those results don’t tell us much, so it will be interesting to see how they fare in Germany.
For the Croats, there’s a bit of a new look too. This isn’t the team that famously reached the 2018 World Cup Final, though parts of that side remains, as stalwart Luka Modric continues to pull the strings in midfield at the tender age of 38.
If anything, as far as I’m concerned, this is an even better Croatia team than the one we’ve seen at recent tournaments.
In Manchester City’s Josip Gvardiol, they have a genuine winner at the back, while they’ve got pace and creativity out wide, not to mention firepower up top, as we saw when they beat a strong-looking Portugal side in warm-up action recently.
The Croats go to Germany off the back of a win against Egypt, North Macedonia and Portugal and as they’ve never been, are not a team to dismiss lightly.
Spain vs Croatia Betting tips
After plenty of deliberation, I’ve settled on two bets, both player-focused, ahead of the Spain vs Croatia fixture:
Ante Budimir to Score
The Spanish are of course big favourites for this clash and they certainly do have the players to hurt their opponents, but we really shouldn’t rule out the Croats offensively here.
We saw just a few days ago that they’re a massive threat on the break, while with the likes of Modric, Kovacic and Majer, they have plenty of players getting on the ball and making something happen.
They’ll likely go with target-man Ante Budimir, who plays in the Spanish top flight and is a nightmare for defenders to face, as he showed when scoring 17 goals for Osasuna last season.
17 goals in an Osasuna team that finished 11th in LaLiga, scoring just 45 goals in total, is bloody good going, make no mistake about that. Budimir also scored against Portugal last time out.
Obviously, playing for Osasuna, Ante Budimir knows all about scoring goals against Spanish opposition, while he knows a thing or two about scoring in big games when his team is considered to be underdogs, scoring last term against Real Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla, Real Sociedad and Villarreal.
Ultimately, for a player who notched an average of 0.63 goals in La Liga last season, scoring against a very good Portugal side in that final warm-up game, and with the Croats far from likely to be totally outplayed here, odds of 4/1 with bet365 just look too big to ignore.
Nico Williams Over 0.5 Assists
As mentioned in my young player of tournament article, Nico Williams is likely to offer a big threat for the Spaniards.
The speedster who plays for Athletic Club in LaLiga has pace to burn, he’s direct and as we saw in that thumping of Northern Ireland the other day, he’s got the ability to breeze past defenders and get deliveries into the box, as he did when assisting Pedri the other night.
Of course, the Spanish have options, but after starting two of the last three Spain games and after what was a very good showing the other night, I’d be a little surprised if Williams doesn’t start again here.
He offers bags more pace than other likely options on the left of the front three, while in terms of tangible end-product, he’s probably the best of the bunch in that position, registering an eye-catching 11 assists in LaLiga last season.
For club and country this season, the 21-year-old boasts a rather impressive total of 15 assists in 38 games, averaging 0.39 assists per game, which makes odds of 4/1 look a little lenient.
Recap - Spain vs Croatia betting tips
To recap, the two recommended bets ahead of Spain vs Croatia are as follows:
Ante Budimir to Score @ 4/1 with bet365
Nico Williams Over 0.5 Assists @ 4/1 with bet365
