Iran Press/ Europe: La Roja was out of the blocks rapidly and made Croatia pay for a sluggish start. First-half goals from Álvaro Morata, Fabián Ruiz and Dani Carvajal – fresh from scoring in the Champions League final – opened up a dominant lead that the Kockasti never looked like coming back from.
As well as Spain and Croatia, Group B also features defending champion Italy – all three teams are ranked in the top 10 of FIFA’s world rankings – and surprise package Albania, which finished top of its qualifying group ahead of Czechia and Poland.
It was an uncharacteristically sloppy start for a vastly experienced Croatia side, which has punched above its weight at international tournaments in recent years, reaching the final and then the semifinal at consecutive World Cups.
The midfield trio of Luka Modrić, Marcelo Brozović and Mateo Kovačić alone boasted 372 caps for Croatia but were largely ineffective throughout.
The Croatian defense was pulled apart with ease for the opening goal just before the half hour mark, allowing Morata to run through on goal from Ruiz’s pass and calmly slot the ball past Dominik Livaković.
That strike moved the 31-year-old up to joint-third on the all-time scoring list at European Championships with seven goals, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Michel Platini.
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