Spain face a real challenge at Euro 2024 after being placed in Group B alongside holders Italy, Croatia and Albania.
The quartet have gained the ‘Group of Death’ tag for the tournament and the battle for a knockout spot will be tight.
Euro 2024 will guarantee plenty of attention for betting markets this summer and The Pokies also offers casino options to break up the match action in Germany.
We take a look at Spain’s group stage opponents as Luis de la Fuente aims to plot a path into the latter stages in the coming weeks.
Italy
Italy produced a performance of pure steel in the final of Euro 2020 to beat England on penalties at Wembley Stadium.
Roberto Mancini has since left his post to move to Saudi Arabia with former Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti taking the reigns of the national side.
Spalletti has made some bold choices in his squad for the tournament with new captain Gianluigi Donnarumma claiming teams will be concerned about facing Italy at Euro 2024.
However, their star has dipped slightly since claiming the European title against England, as they squeezed through qualification for Euro 2024, narrowly ahead of Ukraine.
Atalanta striker Gianluca Scamacca will be the main threat in front of goal on the back lifting the UEFA Europa League title with his club side in May.
Croatia
Croatia will once again rely on the eternal experience in their squad led by Real Madrid veteran Luka Modric.
Modric shows no signs of slowing down, and he will captain Croatia this summer, with a long term plan of playing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
On the back of winning a sixth Champions League title in Madrid, Modric will join up with the squad, after confirming his intention to renew his club contract for another year as per the Bleacher Report.
Zlatko Dalic will be confident the grit and patience of his team will force them out of the group and they could be a greater rival to Spain than Italy.
Albania
Albania’s sole European Championship appearance saw them knocked out at the group stages in 2016.
Their overall level improved, but the draw gods have been unkind to them, with a best third place finish their best option to make the last 16.
Serie A duo Elseid Hysaj and Berat Djimsiti are the standout names in Albania’s panel, alongside Chelsea striker Armando Broja, who spent the second half of 2023/24 campaign on loan at Fulham.