Spain, who have already qualified for the knockout stages with two wins in their first two games, face a Croatia side looking for the win that would guarantee their progression in the tournament. Losing to Croatia would mean coming second and facing Italy, the winners of Group E. When I ask them something about football, they mostly say that this is not their business, but on TRT we are being criticised by a professor of history! The other players will have a chance to show they can do it.
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The morning games find Poland facing already-eliminated Ukraine (TSN4, 8:45 a.m.), while Germany takes on Northern Ireland (TSN, 8:45 a.m.) in Group C action. But an improbable victory could propel Michael O’Neill’s side to the top if Poland slip up against Ukraine.
“I’m not too anxious, the organisers and French police can be more prepared and try to fix all these problems”, he said on Monday. “We have to impose ourselves and make them worry about us”.
“We try to make sure everyone is happy, but it is inevitable that at some moment the 12 that don’t play won’t be happy”, added Del Bosque. “It’s as simple as that”.
In a tournament charactarised by low scoring games, these two sides have been involved in two of the highest scoring matches so far, and with both of them needing to go for a win, there could be more goals on Tuesday evening.
Hosts France or England could then stand in the way of a place in the July 10 final, but midfielder David Silva is confident Spain will steer clear of that perilous path.
Also, do not forget your personal documents as they will be checked with the tickets you have. “We got off to a good start”.
“We really hope our supporters will be at their best, like we are used to, because we really need them against Spain”.
“They are basic pillars to maintain this defensive level we have had for all the recent competitions, apart from [the 2014 World Cup in] Brazil which did not go as we expected”. Their midfield trio of Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Ivan Perisic have all scored in the opening two matches, but Luka Modric is injured for the match against Spain, and with Mandzukic seemingly be out of real form, the troubles for Croatia have only begun.
Spain are not guaranteed the top spot which is why Croatian fans are doubtful about whether they’ll rest their key players.
Torcida Split 1950, a Hajduk Split supporters’ group, has posted on Facebook that it intends to disrupt Tuesday’s Group D match against Spain in Bordeaux.
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Uefa said the ticket restriction, under which supporters identified by the HNS and Croatian authorities as hooligans would be banned from buying tickets, will be applied if any more incidents occur.
