EURO 2012: CROATIA V SPAIN
- Venue: PGE Arena, Gdansk
- Date: Monday, 18 June
- Kick-off: 19:45 BST
TEAM NEWS
Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic was substituted against Italy because of a knock but is set to play.
The Croats began against Italy with a 4-4-2 formation, but switched to 4-2-3-1 at half-time to enable Luka Modric to play further forward.
If he keeps that role then Ivan Rakitic will drop deep to play alongside holding midfielder Ognjen Vukojevic.
Spain's Sergio Busquets hurt his foot against Ireland, but a scan showed no damage, and he has been passed fit.
Striker Fernando Torres is expected to keep his place after scoring twice against the Irish.
Cesc Fabregas netted as a substitute in that match but with competition for places fierce he may remain on the bench.
MATCH PREVIEW
Croatia and Spain have bristled at conspiracy theorists who suggest the two sides would settle for a 2-2 draw, a result that will take both teams into the quarter-finals at Italy's expense.
Slaven BilicCroatia coach“It's out of the question we would agree a result with Spain. To claim the contrary is an insult”
As coach Slaven Bilic has stressed, Croatians are fiercely nationalistic and proud; they revel in the role of underdog, and in their relatively brief history have gained several notable scalps, defeating Italy and Germany (twice) at major tournaments.
They also eliminated England in qualifying for Euro 2008 - and it's worth remembering that Bilic's side won 3-2 at Wembley despite having already guaranteed their place in Austria-Switzerland.
Spain are proud of their status as proponents of the beautiful game, and surely would not want their legacy tainted by a suspicious result. Besides, it's hard enough scoring one goal against the Spaniards, let alone twice. France were the last side to net more than once against them at a major tournament (in a 3-1 win at the 2006 World Cup).
Additionally, the reigning world and European champions don't really do draws; only two of their last 37 competitive games have ended even - coincidentally, both of them against Italy. And the last time they drew a meaningful match 2-2 was back in 2003, in a European Championship qualifier in Ukraine.
Yet despite that record, many bookmakers offer just 4/1 on a 2-2 draw in Gdansk - short odds indeed given you can get 16/1 on the same scoreline between France and Sweden 24 hours later.
Historically, Italy have been a thorn in Spain's side, and the Azzurri's impressive display in Group C's opening match prompted Spanish newspaper AS to predict "don't be surprised if we meet again in the final."
Vicente del Bosque's side might not relish a rematch, but they will have to focus on the task at hand. Croatia are above Italy in the Fifa rankings, and defeat to Bilic's side would probably mean elimination for the reigning world and European champions
MATCH FACTS
- Croatia have won one of four games against Spain (W1, D1, L2). All of those matches have been friendlies.
- The Croats prevailed in the first meeting, winning 2-0 in a friendly at Valencia's Mestalla Stadium, a game current boss Slaven Bilic started.
- The most recent encounter was in 2006, when Spain beat Croatia 2-1 in a World Cup warm-up in Geneva.
Croatia
- The Croats have committed 40 fouls so far - only the Czech Republic were penalized more often in the first two rounds of matches.
- The last team to beat Croatia at the European Championship (excluding penalty shoot-outs) was England, who defeated them 4-2 at Euro 2004.
- Mario Mandzukic has had four shots on target in the tournament, but has scored three times.
- They have scored four goals in each of the European Championship group stages they have participated in (1996, 2004 and 2008). They have managed four goals so far this summer.
Spain
- Spain are unbeaten in 16 competitive matches, recording 15 wins and one draw. Their last defeat was their 1-0 loss to Switzerland at the 2010 World Cup.
- Against Ireland Xavi broke the European Championship records for most individual passes attempted (133) and completed (114), according to Uefa statistics.
- Fernando Torres only spent 38 seconds on the ball against Ireland, but hit five shots (including four on target), scoring twice.
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