Euro 2024: The clash between two championship candidates

By beating Croatia - the reigning World Cup 3rd place with 3-0 in the first match of Group B Euro 2024, the Spanish team showed off their strength as a candidate for the championship. Coach Luis de la Fuente was once doubted about his tactical ability when making the list of players participating in the tournament, but the 62-year-old strategist has proven the effectiveness in rejuvenating the force, helping the Spanish army smoothly deploy an attacking style of play at this Euro.

Notably, all three lines in the Spanish squad can play the role of scoring goals, flexibly switching positions to support the defense. Among them, midfielder Fabian Ruiz received the highest score from experts thanks to his dynamism, scoring one goal, one assist and playing the full 90 minutes of the match against Croatia.

Fabian Ruiz is not mentioned much in the Spanish national team, but impressive statistics show that he can do well in the role left by the legendary Andrés Iniesta. In the 2023-2024 season, Ruiz played 35 matches for PSG, scored 4 goals, contributed 8 assists. Thanks to his convincing performance, the 28-year-old midfielder was named by coach Fuente in the Spanish team for Euro 2024.

In the last 5 matches, counting only official match time, the Spanish team is unbeaten against Italy, including 3 wins. Although the reigning Euro champion, the Italian team has not shown its identity in the tournament taking place in Germany this time. Against a weaker opponent, coach Luciano Spalletti's team still exposed weaknesses to become the team to concede the fastest goal in Euro history, conceding in the 23rd second in the match against Albania.

However, in the most prestigious playground in the continent, the Italian team is always a candidate for the championship when possessing the world's top superstars. Coach Spalletti and his team also have a winning rate of up to 80% in the last 5 matches.