Euro 2024: Morata, Carvajal, Ruiz Score Each As Spain Beats Croatia In Group Opener

Spain kicked off their quest for Euro 2024 with a remarkable start, as Alvaro Morata netted in a decisive 3-0 win over Croatia in Berlin on Saturday, with Lamine Yamal setting a new record as the youngest player in the tournament’s history.

The trio-time European champions have frequently faced criticism for their lacklustre offensive performance in recent major events, yet they delivered an impressive performance at the Olympia stadium, stunning Croatia with their skills.

Sportxparte reports that Morata scored the first goal in the 29th minute, securing his seventh goal in the Euros and tying for third place on the all-time scoring list with Alan Shearer and Antoine Griezmann.

Fabian Ruiz followed up with a second goal shortly after.

Lamine Yamal also contributed with an assist for Dani Carvajal, who sealed the victory for Spain as the game was tied at half-time, while Bruno Petkovic of Croatia missed a crucial penalty.

This match, which mirrored last year’s Nations League final won by Spain on penalties following a scoreless draw, indicates that La Roja are in a strong position to aim for a record-breaking fourth European Championship title.

Croatia, the semi-finalists of the World Cup, are in a tight spot if they want to advance to the knockout stage for the fifth time in a row. They face tough matches against Albania and the reigning champions, Italy, in Group B.

Luka Modric, a key player and a source of inspiration, was substituted in the second half by coach Zlatko Dalic.

Spain’s coach, Luis de la Fuente, named a strong starting lineup that included wingers Nico Williams and Yamal.

The Barcelona player, who is 16 years and 338 days old, broke the record for the youngest player at a European Championship, surpassing Polish international Kacper Kozlowski from Euro 2020 at 17 years and 246 days.

Croatia’s fans were the loudest in the stands, hoisting a large banner during their national anthem that read, “When we get going, heaven and earth will burn”.

However, Croatia struggled to start the game, as Spain took control of the ball and played in their usual aggressive style.

Spain also demonstrated their adaptability under De la Fuente, scoring their first goal with a well-placed shot from Ruiz that went past a defender and into the net.

Ruiz then put Spain in complete control just three minutes later, scoring from a pass from Ruiz that went past a Croatian defender and into the net.

Croatia tried to equalize soon after, but the game began to resemble their intense match against Spain in the last-16 at Euro 2020, which Spain won 5-3 in extra time.

Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon made a quick save to block Marcelo Brozovic’s shot, and Lovro Majer could only manage to score a goal from a rebound.

Croatia continued to create chances, but Spain’s full-back Carvajal scored the first goal of the match in the second half of added time.

Yamal collected a corner and kicked a beautiful cross into the middle for Carvajal to score on the volley.

Croatia attempted to push forward in the second half but left gaps for Spain to fill, and Yamal was unable to score another record-breaking goal.

Marc Cucurella, who was brought in as a left-back by De la Fuente in the Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund earlier this month, made a crucial save to deny Josip Stanisic from scoring.

Substitute Petkovic thought he had scored a goal late in the match when his penalty was saved by Simon.

However, the goal was disallowed by VAR for offside, and Spain added a clean sheet to their impressive performance.