Spain U-21 – Croatia U-21

The favourite will live up to the expectations of its fans

The Spanish team started the European Championships as five-time winners and favourites to win the new competition. To Santiago Denia's credit, they lived up to their high reputation from the very first game. The Spaniards played their opening game against the hosts of the tournament. The Romanian national team kept resisting their formidable opponents till the 55th minute, with a 0-0 score, but after the first conceded goal they went down. Spain's 3-0 win looked fair, given the statistics which saw Romania improve upon their 21% possession, one shot on goal and one corner. This exuberance of the home side shows not only their weakness, but also the cohesiveness of Denia's team. Croatia came into the game against their Ukrainian opponents as slight favourites, but not only did they fail to convert their first-half advantage into a goal lead, they also conceded a goal. The start of the second half was psychologically draining for the Croatians because of their opponents' second goal, which was the last in the losing game. In the second leg, bookmakers had the Spaniards as favourites to win with an odds of 1.45. The five-time European Under-21 champion made his way to the tournament through qualifying Group C, where he lost only a match to Russia. However, following the Russian squad's disqualification, the Spaniards' record is one hundred percent - eight wins in eight meetings with 37 goals scored. Prior to the tournament, the Red Fury had played six friendlies, winning four and drawing twice. Croatia vied for a place in the main draw with Finland, Austria and Norway, losing out to the latter side. In the play-offs, the Croats faced another Scandinavian team, Denmark. Exchanging home victories with their opponents, Croatia proved their eligibility for the UEFA EURO on penalties. The combined value of their players is 3.5 times less than that of their Spanish counterparts. Judging from the first round, the nominal visitors have no advantage over their upcoming opponents. We'll bet on a convincing win for Spain.