Albania arguably have the best chance of finishing second in Group B at Euro 2024.
Despite needing a win against Spain on Monday to finish above both Italy and Croatia, as well as need the result in the game between the latter two to go their way, recent developments could see the Balkan nation take advantage of the situation in their Euro 2024 group.
Currently third in the group with one point, Albania are above Croatia on goal difference and two points behind Italy in second. Albania, therefore, need to win against Spain and hope Croatia beat Italy, though not by three more goals than they manage against La Roja.
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Spain have already finished first in Group B after two games, despite Italy being just three points behind them. That's because group rankings are decided by head-to-head record if two teams finish level on points, ensuring Spain's 1-0 victory against Italy will see them finish first regardless of the results on Monday evening.
As a result, the Spain starting XI could feature a raft of changes against Albania, with one already enforced. After picking up his second booking of Euro 2024, Rodri is suspended for the match against Albania, while defender Nacho missed the match against Italy due to an injury sustained in the first game against Croatia.
So while Spain manager Luis de la Fuente claims that he will continue to pick as strong a team as possible, it's likely he already has one eye on the knockout stages and is keen to not lose anymore players. Indeed, Dani Carvajal and Robin Le Normand - both of whom have played every minute so far this tournament - are at risk of missing the last 16 due to being on yellow cards, while Unai Simon and Marc Cucurella have also featured in all 180 minutes for Spain.
Albania, therefore, could look to take advantage of a changed side who might not be fully up to match speed, as well as the absence of midfield maestro Rodri. Still, Spain certainly aren't taking Albania lightly, especially with the prospect of a nine-point haul in the group stages possible.
"We are planning to play the best team for this game.” De la Fuente said. “This is a competition in which, all going to plan, you play seven matches, and we want to field the best players for what we need here.
"There is a lot on the line for us. This is about prestige and recognition, but we also want to keep improving.
"We'll approach this game as we have all the others, as if it's the last. Of course, we have a gameplan for the players we feel are apt for this game. We're only focusing on winning because we want to win every game."
More Euro 2024 stories ahead of Albania vs Spain and Croatia vs Italy
Don't miss a minute of the action this summer by finding out how to watch all the games at Euro 2024. We've also got specific information on watching Albania vs Spain and Croatia vs Italy, keeping you clued up on all the latest.
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