Spain

As in every international football tournament where the Spanish national team participates, the Spaniards were considered one of the main contenders to win the title even before the start of this tournament. It's hard to say whether it's just a sluggish start to the tournament or if this team is truly facing significant problems, but one fact remains – the Spanish national team looks poor and completely fails to meet expectations.

One can question the principled decision of Spain's coach Luis Enrique not to include players from Real Madrid in the national team, but this is not the only reason why this tournament is proving to be extremely difficult for this team. The fact is that some of the best footballers in Europe play for Real Madrid, and these players would have helped the national team, but even without these players, the Spanish team is not lacking in talent, so all the results cannot be blamed solely on this decision.

The main problem for Spain is the realization of opportunities – both in the match against Poland and in the match against Sweden, the Spaniards had more than one good chance that was squandered, and now we have a situation where if Spain loses or draws with Slovakia, this potentially one of the best teams in the tournament could go home. It is likely that the players will do everything to avoid this fiasco, but judging by the first two matches, it may not be so easy to achieve.

Slovakia

The Slovaks, similar to the Spaniards, are surprising in this tournament. The only difference is that the Slovak national team is surprising in a good way: a victory in the opening match against a strong Polish team (2:1) and only a narrow defeat to the Swedish team (1:0). Judging by the strength of the squad, the Slovaks are far from being the strongest team in the group, but the players are united, play their own football, and are able to create opportunities.

It is very likely that Spain, as in practically every match, will play as the dominant team, while Slovakia will try to find opportunities to counterattack. The Slovaks played as the second team against Poland and managed to score 2 goals with 2 shots on target, while in the match against Sweden, they controlled the ball 57% of the time and did not make a single shot on target. The Slovaks should feel comfortable in the second position and will undoubtedly pay great attention to defense, as even in the case of a defeat, if they do not concede many goals, the Slovaks will have good chances to advance to the next stage.

Predicted team line-ups:

Slovakia
Dubravka, Pekarik, Skriniar, Satka, Hubocan, Kucka, Hromada, Haraslin, Hamsik, Mak, Duda;

Spain
Simon, Llorente, P.Torres, Laporte, Alba, Busquets, Koke, Pedri, Moreno, Morata, Olmo.

Prediction

Spain is the favorite in this match, and a victory in this match is a matter of survival in the tournament for them. It is hard to imagine what would happen in Spain if they did not advance to the next stage and experienced a fiasco in potentially one of the weaker groups of the championship. Nevertheless, Spain's realization of opportunities is unconvincing, so it would be difficult to expect many goals from Spain. However, Spain's defense is quite reliable, so it is unlikely that Slovakia will be able to score even one goal.