[[sport!!]'] Croatia VS Spain live match 18 June 2023
[[sport!!]'] Croatia VS Spain live match 18 June 2023
Zlatko Dalić is on the money when he says this is the greatest Croatia generation ever. His side have quality, mental strength, team spirit and a huge love for their country, and have a chance to win Croatia's first major trophy: there can be no greater motivation. Will they be tired after playing extra time in the semi-finals at the end of a long season? No. That was just an additional warm-up. Croatia's road to the Nations League final: Watch every goalGraham Hunter, Spain reporterFirst things first, a sumptuous match is in prospect. The key questions: can Spain shackle Luka Modrić and can they produce key goals a little earlier than against Italy? The buzz in this squad was very noticeable even before their superb second half against the Azzurri.
What do you need to know? Croatia reached their maiden Nations League final thanks to a thrilling 4-2 victory after extra time against hosts Netherlands on Wednesday, and they return to Rotterdam here aiming to secure the first victory in their history at a final tournament. Spain, meanwhile, left it late but beat Italy 2-1 thanks to an 88th-minute Joselu winner, and will hope to go one better than in 2021, when they lost 2-1 to France in the final. These two nations have certainly been involved in some entertaining contests over the years.
Their first competitive meeting came at UEFA EURO 2012, with Spain winning the Group C game 1-0 thanks to a late Jesús Navas goal. Croatia got revenge four years later at EURO 2016 by triumphing 2-1 in Group D. Spain incredibly beat Croatia 6-0 with a scintillating performance in the Nations League in 2018, but then lost 3-2 to the same opponents two months later. But their most recent meeting was perhaps the most memorable, with Spain winning an extraordinary match 5-3 at EURO 2020 after extra time.