Spain must prove themselves again as familiar faces bid to destroy Euro hopes

When Croatia face Spain in Berlin in their Euro 2024 opener, Mateo Kovacic will stand eye-to-eye with the man he believes is the “best defensive player in the world".

And for the Manchester City midfielder, there is simply no competition when it comes to his Etihad team-mate, Rodri.

“Rodri is the engine of City”, Kovacic insists. “You can feel it when he is not in the team.” Certainly, City do.

Prior to the surprise FA Cup Final defeat to Manchester United, Rodri had gone 74 matches without a defeat inside 90 minutes in club football; his last had been 15 months previous, on February 5 2023, against Spurs. However at international level, with Spain not having been up to their 2008-2012 vintage for some time, City’s No.16 isn’t held in the same high regard.

That may well have to do with La Rosa’s comparative struggles at recent major tournaments. In four of the last five they’ve exited at either the last 16 or group stage - Euro 2020 the exception, losing in the last four to eventual winners Italy.

Certainly the loss of the Xavi-Iniesta-Busquets generation has been felt. A lack of a top class frontman hasn’t helped either.

Now as a new generation, including Barcelona sensations Pedri and 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, takes centre stage, it is to Rodri to whom boss Luis de la Fuente turns for experience and know-how, and around whom his entire side will pivot.

At 27 and with 50 caps to his name, Pep Guardiola's on-field lieutenant is in his prime years.

In Germany, Spain need him to dominate, to take control in a way that he’s never really done before at a major competition but which has become the norm in Manchester, seeing him score Champions League winners and Premier League title deciders.

At the Olympiastadion, he'll line up against Kovacic, fresh from winning his 100th international cap, and the best midfielder in Europe in the last decade, Luka Modric.

Now 38, this will almost certainly be the Real Madrid man's final tournament. If Rodri wants a reference point as to how to get the job done at international level, he doesn't need to look much further.

Modric, assisted by a rolling cast including Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic - still in situ at the base of midfield - has led Croatia to the 2018 World Cup Final, 2022 semis and upsets aplenty. He's hell bent on another deep run, signalling his intentions with a goal in the pre-tournament win over Portugal.

"After Luka, there will be a changing of the guard," admits Zlatko Dalic. "But as long as Luka is here, we call it the 'golden generation'. He is the greatest Croatian football player of all time."

By hook or by crook, Modric has ensured that they have punched above their weight on a regular basis.

It's time Rodri ensured Spain started punching theirs once again.