By Seyi Babalola
Alvaro Morata, Fabian Ruiz, and Dani Carvajal scored in the first half to lead Spain to a decisive 3-0 victory over Croatia on Saturday, giving the 2008 and 2012 winners the perfect start to their Euro 2024 campaign.
Morata broke the deadlock in the 29th minute after the Croatians lost possession up front and Fabian split the defence with a beautiful pass, allowing the Spanish captain to sprint through and slide the ball past Dominik Livakovic.
Fabian added the second three minutes later, and defender Carvajal added the third just before halftime, as Lamine Yamal, the youngest player ever to play in the Euros, picked him out to score and basically end the game.
Croatia had a goal ruled out when Bruno Petkovic’s missed penalty was thrown back into his path for him to score, but the strike was disallowed owing to Croatian teammates encroaching on his original penalty kick as they suffered a crushing defeat.