By James Cormack
Spain may no longer boast the technical mastery of their supreme 2008-2012 cycle, but there's hope back home that Luis de la Fuente's side can enjoy a deep run in Germany this summer.
Luis Enrique's Spain were arguably the standout team of Euro 2020 before they lost to Italy on penalties in the semi-finals. They then disappointed at the 2022 World Cup as they were beaten in the last 16 by Morocco - once again succumbing from 12 yards.
There's been some evolution and turnaround since Qatar, however, with Spain heading into Euro 2024 as one of the continent's form teams.
Their group is very tough, but one many are backing them to win. Spain's tournament begins on Saturday against Croatia, and here's how they could line up for it.
Spain predicted lineup vs Croatia (4-3-3)
GK: Unai Simon - The Athletic Club goalkeeper has been Spain's established number one for quite some time and despite increased competition from David Raya, Simon will start between the sticks this summer.
RB: Dani Carvajal - Carvajal heads into the tournament off the back of his Champions League final heroics. Spain only have Jesus Navas in reserve at right-back, so the Real Madrid man isn't going to get much respite.
CB: Nacho Fernandez - After captaining Real Madrid to glory, Nacho deservedly received a call-up to the Euro 2024 squad and he could find himself in De la Fuente's XI.
CB: Robin Le Normand \- Aymeric Laporte is among the options for the manager, but Le Normand, currently the subject of transfer talk, is set to get the nod.
LB: Alejandro Grimaldo - Crosses have been a huge part of De la Fuente's Spain, and they've got an excellent crosser of the ball down the left flank in the attack-minded Grimaldo.
CM: Rodri - Manchester City's lynchpin is a shoo-in at the base of midfield. It'd be a surprise to see him miss a single minute of action in Germany.
CM: Pedri - Pedri earned his first two caps in 18 months in Spain's pre-tournament friendlies, but the Barcelona midfielder, ravaged by injuries since his stellar Euro 2020 campaign, looks to be fit and firing again.
CM: Fabian Ruiz - Gavi's absence means there's a midfield spot up for grabs, with Fabian set to beat out Mikel Merino for it.
RW: Lamine Yamal - De la Fuente has a wealth of attacking options at his disposal and we should see plenty of rotation down the flanks this summer. However, given his talent and just how well he performed for Barcelona last season, the Spain boss would be silly not to start Yamal.
ST: Alvaro Morata - The leading appearance-maker and goalscorer in the Spain squad, Morata has assumed captain duties for the tournament. The increased responsibility could be the making of the hot-and-cold Atletico Madrid forward.
LW: Mikel Oyarzabal - Oyarzabal has surely played his way into Saturday's starting XI having netted four goals in Spain's two warm-up matches, including a hat-trick against Andorra.
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This article was originally published on 90min.com as Spain predicted lineup vs Croatia - Euro 2024.
