Spain kicked off its Euro 2024 campaign with a statement 3-0 win over Croatia to earn a vital three points in the tournament’s ‘Group of Death.’
La Roja was out of the blocks rapidly and made Croatia pay for a sluggish start. First-half goals from Álvaro Morata, Fabián Ruiz and Dani Carvajal – fresh from scoring in the Champions League final – opened up a dominant lead that the Kockasti never looked like coming back from.
As well as Spain and Croatia, Group B also features defending champion Italy – all three teams are ranked in the top 10 of FIFA’s world rankings – and surprise package Albania, which finished top of its qualifying group ahead of Czechia and Poland.
It was an uncharacteristically sloppy start for a vastly experienced Croatia side, which has punched above its weight at international tournaments in recent years, reaching the final and then the semifinal at consecutive World Cups.
The midfield trio of Luka Modrić, Marcelo Brozović and Mateo Kovačić alone boasted 372 caps for Croatia but were largely ineffective throughout.
The Croatian defense was pulled apart with ease for the opening goal just before the half hour mark, allowing Morata to run through on goal from Ruiz’s pass and calmly slot the ball past Dominik Livaković. That strike moved the 31-year-old up to joint-third on the all-time scoring list at European Championships with seven goals, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Michel Platini.
The next goal came just three minutes later as Ruiz danced around weak challenges from Modrić and Brozović on the edge of the area before drilling the ball low into the bottom corner.
Carvajal then made it three on the stroke of half-time, timing his run perfectly to slide into the six-yard box and turn Lamine Yamal’s pinpoint cross past Livaković.
Both teams had plenty of chances to add to the scoreline in the second half, but were thwarted by poor finishing and a brilliant save from Livaković which denied Barcelona youngster Yamal a record-breaking goal.
Croatian fans thought they at least had a moment to cheer in the closing stages when Bruno Petković scored at the second attempt after seeing his initial penalty saved.
However, the video assistant referee (VAR) ruled that Ivan Perišić had encroached into the area during the spot kick before he squared the ball back to Petković.
It capped a miserable afternoon for Croatia and the team will have to improve dramatically when it faces Albania and Italy to have any hope of qualifying for the knockout stages.