UEFA Euro 2024 Group B

Group B of UEFA Euro 2024 took place from 15 to 24 June 2024.[1] The group contained Spain, Croatia, defending champions Italy, and Albania. Spain, Italy, and Croatia were drawn together in Group C of the UEFA Euro 2012, and just like 2012, Croatia would go out in the group stage while Spain would go on to win the tournament. The Group was considered the tournament's Group of Death due Italy, Spain, and Croatia being in the Top 10 of the FIFA Rankings heading into the tournament.

Teams

Draw position Team Pot Method of
qualification
Date of
qualification
Finals
appearance
Last
appearance
Previous best
performance
Qualifying Rankings
November 2023[nb 1]
FIFA Rankings
April 2024
B1  Spain 1 Group A winner 15 October 2023 12th 2020 Winners (1964, 2008, 2012) 3 8
B2  Croatia 3 Group D runner-up 21 November 2023 7th 2020 Quarter-finals (1996, 2008) 14 10
B3  Italy 4 Group C runner-up 20 November 2023 11th 2020 Winners (1968, 2020) 18 9
B4  Albania 2 Group E winner 17 November 2023 2nd 2016 Group stage (2016) 10 66

Notes

  1. ^ The European Qualifiers overall rankings from November 2023 were used for seeding for the final draw.

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Spain 3 3 0 0 5 0 +5 9 Advance to knockout stage
2  Italy 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
3  Croatia 3 0 2 1 3 6 −3 2
4  Albania 3 0 1 2 3 5 −2 1
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

In the round of 16,[2]

  • The winner of Group B, Spain, advanced to play the third-placed team of Group F, Georgia.
  • The runner-up of Group B, Italy, advanced to play the runner-up of Group A, Switzerland.

Matches

Spain vs Croatia

Both teams previously met in the 2023 UEFA Nations League final, which Spain won on penalties. With his start, Spain's Lamine Yamal became the youngest player to make an appearance in the UEFA European Championship final tournament.[3]

Spain 3–0 Croatia
  • Morata 29'
  • Fabián 32'
  • Carvajal 45+2'
Report
Attendance: 68,844[4]
Spain[5]
Croatia[5]
GK 23 Unai Simón
RB 2 Dani Carvajal
CB 3 Robin Le Normand
CB 4 Nacho
LB 24 Marc Cucurella
CM 20 Pedri  59'
CM 16 Rodri  78'  86'
CM 8 Fabián Ruiz
RF 19 Lamine Yamal  86'
CF 7 Álvaro Morata (c)  67'
LF 17 Nico Williams  67'
Substitutions:
FW 10 Dani Olmo  59'
FW 21 Mikel Oyarzabal  67'
MF 6 Mikel Merino  67'
MF 18 Martín Zubimendi  86'
FW 11 Ferran Torres  86'
Manager:
Luis de la Fuente
GK 1 Dominik Livaković
RB 2 Josip Stanišić
CB 6 Josip Šutalo
CB 3 Marin Pongračić
LB 4 Joško Gvardiol
CM 10 Luka Modrić (c)  65'
CM 11 Marcelo Brozović
CM 8 Mateo Kovačić  65'
RW 7 Lovro Majer
LW 9 Andrej Kramarić  72'
CF 16 Ante Budimir  56'
Substitutions:
MF 14 Ivan Perišić  56'
MF 15 Mario Pašalić  65'
MF 25 Luka Sučić  65'
FW 17 Bruno Petković  72'
Manager:
Zlatko Dalić

Man of the Match:
Fabián Ruiz (Spain)[6]

Assistant referees:[5]
Stuart Burt (England)
Dan Cook (England)
Fourth official:
Anthony Taylor (England)
Reserve assistant referee:
Gary Beswick (England)
Video assistant referee:
Stuart Attwell (England)
Assistant video assistant referees:
David Coote (England)
Pol van Boekel (Netherlands)

Italy vs Albania

Nedim Bajrami scored for Albania after 23 seconds, netting the fastest goal in the UEFA European Championship history.[7]

Italy 2–1 Albania
Report
Attendance: 60,512[8]
Italy[9]
Albania[9]
GK 1 Gianluigi Donnarumma (c)
RB 2 Giovanni Di Lorenzo
CB 23 Alessandro Bastoni
CB 5 Riccardo Calafiori  51'
LB 3 Federico Dimarco  83'
CM 8 Jorginho
CM 18 Nicolò Barella  90+2'
RW 7 Davide Frattesi
AM 10 Lorenzo Pellegrini  21'  77'
LW 14 Federico Chiesa  77'
CF 9 Gianluca Scamacca  83'
Substitutions:
MF 16 Bryan Cristante  77'
DF 24 Andrea Cambiaso  77'
FW 19 Mateo Retegui  83'
DF 13 Matteo Darmian  83'
FW 25 Michael Folorunsho  90+2'
Manager:
Luciano Spalletti
GK 23 Thomas Strakosha
RB 4 Elseid Hysaj
CB 6 Berat Djimsiti (c)
CB 5 Arlind Ajeti
LB 3 Mario Mitaj
CM 21 Kristjan Asllani
CM 20 Ylber Ramadani
CM 10 Nedim Bajrami  87'
RF 9 Jasir Asani  68'
CF 11 Armando Broja  51'  77'
LF 15 Taulant Seferi  68'
Substitutions:
FW 26 Arbër Hoxha  74'  68'
MF 14 Qazim Laçi  68'
FW 7 Rey Manaj  77'
FW 17 Ernest Muçi  87'
Manager:
Sylvinho

Man of the Match:
Federico Chiesa (Italy)[6]

Assistant referees:[9]
Stefan Lupp (Germany)
Marco Achmüller (Germany)
Fourth official:
Daniel Siebert (Germany)
Reserve assistant referee:
Jan Seidel (Germany)
Video assistant referee:
Bastian Dankert (Germany)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Christian Dingert (Germany)
Rob Dieperink (Netherlands)

Croatia vs Albania

Croatia 2–2 Albania
Report
Croatia[11]
Albania[11]
GK 1 Dominik Livaković
RB 22 Josip Juranović
CB 6 Josip Šutalo
CB 4 Joško Gvardiol
LB 14 Ivan Perišić  84'
CM 10 Luka Modrić (c)
CM 11 Marcelo Brozović  46'
CM 8 Mateo Kovačić
RF 7 Lovro Majer  46'
CF 17 Bruno Petković  69'
LF 9 Andrej Kramarić  84'
Substitutions:
MF 25 Luka Sučić  46'
MF 15 Mario Pašalić  46'
FW 16 Ante Budimir  69'
DF 19 Borna Sosa  84'
MF 26 Martin Baturina  84'
Other disciplinary actions:
TS Vedran Ćorluka[12][13]  65'
GK 23 Ivica Ivušić  87'
Manager:
Zlatko Dalić
GK 23 Thomas Strakosha
RB 4 Elseid Hysaj  77'
CB 6 Berat Djimsiti (c)
CB 5 Arlind Ajeti
LB 3 Mario Mitaj
CM 21 Kristjan Asllani
CM 20 Ylber Ramadani  85'
CM 14 Qazim Laçi  72'
RF 9 Jasir Asani  64'
CF 7 Rey Manaj  85'
LF 10 Nedim Bajrami
Substitutions:
FW 15 Taulant Seferi  64'
MF 8 Klaus Gjasula  90+7'  72'
FW 26 Arbër Hoxha  85'
FW 19 Mirlind Daku  90+3'  85'
Manager:
Sylvinho

Man of the Match:
Andrej Kramarić (Croatia)[6]

Assistant referees:[11]
Cyril Mugnier (France)
Mehdi Rahmouni (France)
Fourth official:
Sandro Schärer (Switzerland)
Reserve assistant referee:
Stéphane de Almeida (Switzerland)
Video assistant referee:
Willy Delajod (France)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Jérôme Brisard (France)
Bastian Dankert (Germany)

Spain vs Italy

Italy and Spain faced each other in a fifth consecutive European Championships.[14] Their most notable clash was Spain's 4–0 victory in the UEFA Euro 2012 final.

Spain 1–0 Italy
Report
Spain[16]
Italy[16]
GK 23 Unai Simón
RB 2 Dani Carvajal  90+6'
CB 3 Robin Le Normand  69'
CB 14 Aymeric Laporte
LB 24 Marc Cucurella
CM 20 Pedri  71'
CM 16 Rodri  45+1'
CM 8 Fabián Ruiz  90+4'
RF 19 Lamine Yamal  71'
CF 7 Álvaro Morata (c)  78'
LF 17 Nico Williams  78'
Substitutions:
MF 15 Álex Baena  71'
FW 11 Ferran Torres  71'
FW 21 Mikel Oyarzabal  78'
FW 26 Ayoze Pérez  78'
MF 6 Mikel Merino  90+4'
Manager:
Luis de la Fuente
GK 1 Gianluigi Donnarumma (c)  15'
RB 2 Giovanni Di Lorenzo
CB 23 Alessandro Bastoni
CB 5 Riccardo Calafiori
LB 3 Federico Dimarco
CM 18 Nicolò Barella
CM 8 Jorginho  46'
RW 7 Davide Frattesi  46'
AM 10 Lorenzo Pellegrini  82'
LW 14 Federico Chiesa  64'
CF 9 Gianluca Scamacca  64'
Substitutions:
DF 24 Andrea Cambiaso  46'
MF 16 Bryan Cristante  46'  46'
FW 20 Mattia Zaccagni  64'
FW 19 Mateo Retegui  64'
FW 11 Giacomo Raspadori  82'
Manager:
Luciano Spalletti

Man of the Match:
Nico Williams (Spain)[6]

Assistant referees:[16]
Tomaž Klančnik (Slovenia)
Andraž Kovačič (Slovenia)
Fourth official:
Clément Turpin (France)
Reserve assistant referee:
Nicolas Danos (France)
Video assistant referee:
Nejc Kajtazovič (Slovenia)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Bartosz Frankowski (Poland)
Tomasz Kwiatkowski (Poland)

Albania vs Spain

Albania 0–1 Spain
Report
Albania[18]
Spain[18]
GK 23 Thomas Strakosha
RB 2 Iván Balliu
CB 6 Berat Djimsiti (c)
CB 5 Arlind Ajeti
LB 3 Mario Mitaj
CM 20 Ylber Ramadani
CM 21 Kristjan Asllani
RW 9 Jasir Asani  82'
AM 14 Qazim Laçi  71'
LW 10 Nedim Bajrami  66'  71'
CF 7 Rey Manaj  58'
Substitutions:
FW 11 Armando Broja  58'
FW 16 Medon Berisha  89'  71'
FW 26 Arbër Hoxha  71'
FW 17 Ernest Muçi  82'
Other disciplinary actions:
TS Ervin Bulku[note 1]  52'
Manager:
Sylvinho
GK 1 David Raya
RB 22 Jesús Navas (c)
CB 5 Daniel Vivian  90'
CB 14 Aymeric Laporte  46'
LB 12 Álex Grimaldo
CM 18 Martín Zubimendi
CM 6 Mikel Merino
RW 11 Ferran Torres  71'
AM 10 Dani Olmo  84'
LW 21 Mikel Oyarzabal  62'
CF 9 Joselu  71'
Substitutions:
DF 3 Robin Le Normand  46'
FW 25 Fermín López  62'
FW 19 Lamine Yamal  71'
FW 7 Álvaro Morata  71'
MF 15 Álex Baena  84'
Manager:
Luis de la Fuente

Man of the Match:
Ferran Torres (Spain)[6]

Assistant referees:[18]
Mahbod Beigi (Sweden)
Andreas Söderkvist (Sweden)
Fourth official:
Mykola Balakin (Ukraine)
Reserve assistant referee:
Oleksandr Berkut (Ukraine)
Video assistant referee:
Christian Dingert (Germany)
Assistant video assistant referees:
David Coote (England)
Marco Fritz (Germany)

Croatia vs Italy

With his goal, Croatia's Luka Modrić became the oldest goalscorer in the UEFA European Championship final tournament.[21] However, the draw caused Croatia to finish last among the four best-ranked third-placed teams, eliminating them. This was the first time Croatia had failed to advance to the knockout stage of the Euros since Euro 2012 and in any major international football tournament since the 2014 World Cup.[22]

Croatia 1–1 Italy
Report
Croatia[24]
Italy[24]
GK 1 Dominik Livaković
RB 2 Josip Stanišić  82'
CB 6 Josip Šutalo
CB 3 Marin Pongračić  78'
LB 4 Joško Gvardiol
CM 10 Luka Modrić (c)  60'  80'
CM 11 Marcelo Brozović  90+1'
CM 8 Mateo Kovačić  70'
RF 25 Luka Sučić  24'  70'
CF 9 Andrej Kramarić  90'
LF 15 Mario Pašalić  46'
Substitutions:
FW 16 Ante Budimir  46'
MF 14 Ivan Perišić  70'
MF 18 Luka Ivanušec  73'  70'
MF 7 Lovro Majer  80'
DF 22 Josip Juranović  90'
Manager:
Zlatko Dalić
GK 1 Gianluigi Donnarumma (c)
RB 2 Giovanni Di Lorenzo
CB 23 Alessandro Bastoni
CB 5 Riccardo Calafiori  90+3'
LB 13 Matteo Darmian  81'
CM 18 Nicolò Barella
CM 8 Jorginho  81'
RW 11 Giacomo Raspadori  75'
AM 10 Lorenzo Pellegrini  46'
LW 3 Federico Dimarco  57'
CF 19 Mateo Retegui
Substitutions:
MF 7 Davide Frattesi  46'
FW 14 Federico Chiesa  57'
FW 9 Gianluca Scamacca  75'
MF 20 Mattia Zaccagni  81'
MF 21 Nicolò Fagioli  90+6'  81'
Manager:
Luciano Spalletti  90+10'

Man of the Match:
Luka Modrić (Croatia)[6]

Assistant referees:[24]
Hessel Steegstra (Netherlands)
Jan de Vries (Netherlands)
Fourth official:
Serdar Gözübüyük (Netherlands)
Reserve assistant referee:
Johan Balder (Netherlands)
Video assistant referee:
Rob Dieperink (Netherlands)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Pol van Boekel (Netherlands)
Bastian Dankert (Germany)

Discipline

Fair play points would have been used as a tiebreaker if the head-to-head and overall records of teams had been tied (and if a penalty shoot-out was not applicable as a tiebreaker). These were calculated based on yellow and red cards received by players and team officials in all group matches as follows:[2]

  • yellow card = 1 point
  • red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points
  • direct red card = 3 points
  • yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points

Only one of the above deductions was applied to a player or team official in a single match.

Team Match 1 Match 2 Match 3 Points
           
 Spain 1 3 1 −5
 Italy 2 2 3 −7
 Albania 2 3 3[a] −8
 Croatia 2[a] 6 −8
  1. ^ a b Count includes a card from a technical staff member of the team

See also

Notes

  1. ^ While sources initially indicated that Albania manager Sylvinho was shown a yellow card,[19] replays indicated that the card was instead given to his assistant manager Ervin Bulku.[20]

References

  1. ^ "UEFA Euro 2024 match schedule" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 2 December 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Regulations of the UEFA European Football Championship, 2022–24". Union of European Football Associations. 10 May 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Lamine Yamal sets new record as youngest player to feature at a UEFA European Championship". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 15 June 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Full Time Report – Spain v Croatia" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 15 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Tactical Line-ups – Spain v Croatia" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 15 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Every Euro 2024 Player of the Match". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 14 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Who scored the fastest goals at UEFA European Championship final tournaments?". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 15 June 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Full Time Report – Italy v Albania" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 15 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  9. ^ a b c "Tactical Line-ups – Italy v Albania" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 15 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  10. ^ "Full Time Report – Croatia v Albania" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 19 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  11. ^ a b c "Tactical Line-ups – Croatia v Albania" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 19 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  12. ^ Hashim, Taha (19 June 2024). "Croatia 2–2 Albania: Euro 2024 – as it happened". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024. 65 min: The ref stops play as Sutalo goes down. There's a yellow shown by the ref to someone in the Croatian backroom staff, Vedran Corluka apparently, for doing something naughty.
  13. ^ "European Championship 2024: Booking List before Final tournament Matchday 3" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 23 June 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 June 2024. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  14. ^ Robson, James (19 June 2024). "Euro 2024: Heavyweight rivals Italy and Spain meet for the fifth European Championship in a row". Associated Press. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Full Time Report – Spain v Italy" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 20 June 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  16. ^ a b c "Tactical Line-ups – Spain v Italy" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 20 June 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Full Time Report – Albania v Spain" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  18. ^ a b c "Tactical Line-ups – Albania v Spain" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  19. ^ Bailey, Michael; Miller, Nick (24 June 2024). "How Spain maintained their perfect record at Euro 2024 with win over Albania". The Athletic. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024. Waging [sic] the finger – 52' Albania 0–1 Spain: Sylvinho has been booked for some over-enthusiastic protests against a free-kick being given against his Albania side — and he pushes his luck still further by wagging his finger with some gusto at the referee as he is walking off.
  20. ^ Harty, Colm (director) (24 June 2024). Euro 2024 – Albania v Spain. BBC Two (Television production). Düsseldorf. Event occurs at 1:50:35 (61:56 on game clock). Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  21. ^ "Euro's oldest scorers: Modrić sets new record". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  22. ^ Cootes, Isobel (19 June 2024). "'The end of an era': Croatia fail to live up to expectations at EURO 2024". Optus Sport. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  23. ^ "Full Time Report – Croatia v Italy" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  24. ^ a b c "Tactical Line-ups – Croatia v Italy" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.