Today, the last two matches of Group B of the European Football Championship will be played in Germany. From 22:00 Bulgarian time, Croatia face the trophy holders Italy in Leipzig, while Albania take on Spain at the stadium in Düsseldorf.
La Furia Roja, led by Luis de la Fuente, have already qualified for the knockout stages of the tournament as winners of the Group of Death. The three-time champions of the Old Continent are one of the two teams so far who have seriously impressed with their performances alongside hosts Germany. De La Fuente and Co. are yet to concede a goal, winning back-to-back wins against Croatia and Italy 3-0 and 1-0 respectively, with convincing performances in the process. The direct style of play of the Spaniards catches the eye, and Lamin Yamal and Nico Williams shine on the wings.
Against themselves, Spain will have a challenge in the face of the tough team of Albania, who narrowly conceded to Italy with 1:2 in their first match, and in the second came to a dramatic 2:2 with Croatia after a late goal from the reserve Klaus Jazula, who -he had scored an own goal earlier. The Albanians, led by Silvinho, are extremely dangerous, and to find a place in the next phase of the competition as second in the final standings, they must win against Spain. For this purpose, Croatia must beat Italy, and in such a scenario, other indicators will be looked at, starting with the goal difference.
The clash at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig between the Flames and the Squad promises to be very intriguing. Zlatko Dalic's players are not up to par, with the big problem for the Qatar 2022 third coming before the breaks - the team have conceded as many as 4 goals in their two first halves. The Chessmen dropped the win against Albania and now have their backs against the wall, going directly to the round of 16 if they can handle the champions and the Albanians do not take their match against Spain (if Albania wins, then the Croatians and Albanians will be level on points and head-to-head performance and then other criteria will determine who is second and third respectively in the standings).
Italy has been unconvincing with its performances so far, winning against Albania at the start with 2:1, without shining much, and in the second match against Spain, it got away with a heavier loss than the minimum 0:1. Luciano Spalletti's graduates will qualify for the 1/8-finals if they avoid defeat by the Croatians, but there is also an option for the team to drop out in the group stage – this will happen if they lose to Croatia and Albania wins over Spain.
Euro 2024 program for Monday:
Group C
22:00, Albania - Spain
22:00, Croatia - Italy. | BGNES
