On Saturday, a new era of Spanish international football will get underway at La Rosaleda, when Spain takes on Norway in their opening Euro 2024 qualifying match.
The match will be Luis de la Fuente’s first in charge as head coach of La Roja. The 61-year-old, who was previously in charge of Spain’s under-21 side, succeeded Luis Enrique in December, following his departure after a disappointing 2022 World Cup.
Spain will fancy themselves to go all the way at Euro 2024, where they are expected to compete against the likes of France, England, Italy and Portugal to achieve the crowning glory in the competition’s final, which will take place in Germany.
Spain’s qualifying group is far from straightforward, so de la Fuente will be under pressure to ensure safe passage into the European Championship finals next summer. They will take on Erling Haaland’s Norway, a Georgia side featuring Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and a Scotland team that has shown increased pedigree in recent years. For La Roja, it could me more of a roulette compared to usual, and if casino games are what you’re interested in, it’s worth checking out the online options in this list before getting started.
There is an air of change in de la Fuente’s first Spain squad, with several faces either making their first appearance for the full team, or having returned after a prolonged absence. Those included will be desperate to prove themselves in order to stake a claim to be among the squad for years to come.
Despite de la Fuente’s background of favouring young players, primarily due to his history of coaching youth sides, he has opted for more experienced La Liga players for his first squad, including the likes of Nacho Fernandez, David Garcia and Joselu.
However, Martin Zubimendi is included, and could be in line for his first competitive appearance in a Spain shirt, having previously made his debut in a friendly against Lithuania back in 2021.
Spain have been boosted by the news that Erling Haaland will not play in Saturday’s match due to injury, but they will still have to contend with several excellent players, including Martin Odegaard and Alexander Sorloth.
They will then make the trip to Glasgow three days later to take on Scotland at Hampden Park. The Scots have lost just one official home match in almost four years, so that will also be a very tricky test for de la Fuente’s side.
However, Spain will fancy their chances to take maximum points from their opening two matches, as they seek to return to the glory days of 2008-2012, when they famous won three major tournaments in succession (two European Championships and one World Cup).
