{"id":3671,"date":"2023-06-18T13:30:18","date_gmt":"2023-06-18T13:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/?p=3671"},"modified":"2023-06-18T13:41:22","modified_gmt":"2023-06-18T13:41:22","slug":"croatia-and-spain-battle-for-nations-league-glory-in-epic-clash-nations-league-final-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/croatia-and-spain-battle-for-nations-league-glory-in-epic-clash-nations-league-final-preview","title":{"rendered":"Croatia and Spain Battle for Nations League Glory in Epic Clash: Nations League Final Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Croatia and Spain are set to go head-to-head in the thrilling final of the UEFA Nations League. As the tension builds and the stakes soar, both teams are eager to become the third team to win the Nations League, after Portugal and the Netherlands. While Spain has a storied past with multiple international titles, Croatia finds itself on the cusp of a monumental achievement. With the opportunity to clinch their first-ever international trophy, the Croatian team will be fueled by a burning desire to make history. As the final approaches, all eyes are on these two formidable sides as they battle for glory on the grand stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Spain take on Croatia in the Nations League Finals! ?? ??<br><br>Who will come out on top?<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NationsLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#NationsLeague<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Spain?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Spain<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Croatia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Croatia<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/365Scores?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#365Scores<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IviCOtqP30\">pic.twitter.com\/IviCOtqP30<\/a><\/p>&mdash; 365Scores (@365Scores) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/365Scores\/status\/1670358560142753792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">June 18, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Team News:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Spain remain without Spain star midfielder Pedri but no new injuries were picked up against Italy on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Croatia also survived Wednesday&#8217;s gruelling battle against the Netherlands without picking up any fresh injuries. They are still missing key centre-back Jo\u0161ko Gvardiol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Key Players:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Croatia<em>: <\/em><\/strong><em>Luka Modric<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Luka Modric did what Luka Modric does in the semi-final against the Netherlands. He scored, assisted, won a penalty, and entirely controlled the game as Croatia put the Dutch side to the sword. The seasoned veteran and captain of the Croatian national team, Modric is famed for his phenomenal ball control, cultivated dribbling, and meticulous passing. Modric has the ability to dictate the rhythm of the game. Modric deserves to win an international trophy with Croatia to put the cherry on top of a fantastic career. This is his chance.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Modric-22-1024x827.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2009\" width=\"342\" height=\"276\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Modric-22-1024x827.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Modric-22-300x242.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Modric-22-768x620.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Modric-22-1536x1240.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Modric-22.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 342px) 100vw, 342px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Spain: <\/em><\/strong><em>Rodri<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In order to stop Modric from getting his hands on an international trophy, Rodri will be key for Spain. His presence in the Spanish national team is vital due to his exceptional ball distribution, defensive prowess, composure under pressure, midfield organization, and tactical versatility. The Champions League Final matchwinner was fantastic against Italy, even just five days after the Final. Rodri&#8217;s calmness on the ball and ability to dictate the game&#8217;s tempo provide Spain with control and stability. In the Nations League final, Rodri&#8217;s contributions will be vital as Spain aims to secure victory and add another title to their collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Rodri can\u2019t stop winning ? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lxCB4BB0AC\">pic.twitter.com\/lxCB4BB0AC<\/a><\/p>&mdash; 433 (@433) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/433\/status\/1669460846102151170?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">June 15, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Match Stats:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Croatia and Spain have faced off four times before, both winning two games apiece. Their last meeting was in the Euro 2020 Round of 16, in which Spain prevailed 5-3. &nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Croatia:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Croatia are unbeaten in their last four games<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They are also without a clean sheet in any of their last five games<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Spain:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Spain have won just two of their last six games<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Striker Alvaro Morata has three goals in his last five Spain games<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/GettyImages-1210135612-1024x688.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3661\" width=\"437\" height=\"293\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/GettyImages-1210135612-1024x688.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/GettyImages-1210135612-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/GettyImages-1210135612-768x516.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/GettyImages-1210135612-1536x1032.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/GettyImages-1210135612-scaled.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 437px) 100vw, 437px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Spain are the favourites to lift the trophy, at 11\/8 on bet365. Croatia are the underdogs at 11\/8 on bet365.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>[ays_poll id=71]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>By Nicky Helfgott \/ @NickyH3lfgott on Twitter<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Croatia and Spain are set to go head-to-head in the thrilling final of the UEFA Nations League. As the tension builds and the stakes soar, both teams are eager to become the third team to win the Nations League, after Portugal and the Netherlands. While Spain has a storied past with multiple international titles, Croatia &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":3661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"","rank_math_canonical_url":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":"Nations League","rank_math_facebook_image":"","rank_math_robots":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[888,1352,937,1350,823,1355,1354,689],"content-tags":[],"article_type":[],"entity_type":[],"inspiration":[],"class_list":["post-3671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer","tag-croatia","tag-gavi","tag-modric","tag-nations-league","tag-pedri","tag-perisic","tag-rodri","tag-spain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3671\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3671"},{"taxonomy":"content-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-tags?post=3671"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=3671"},{"taxonomy":"entity_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity_type?post=3671"},{"taxonomy":"inspiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/inspiration?post=3671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}