Spain vs Northern Ireland: Preview, Prediction & Betting Tips

Spain host Northern Ireland in their final friendly game in preparation for the upcoming European Championships in Germany.

Date: 08/06/24

Kick-off time: 20:30

Venue: Estadi Mallorca Son Moix

The Spaniards will be looking to go one step further in this tournament after they were eliminated on penalties by eventual champions Italy in the semi-final of Euro 2020. Luis de la Fuente has a very talented squad at his disposal, which will be expected to progress deep into the competition once more. He named a provisional squad of 29, which would have already been cut down to 26 by the time they kick off in this friendly game. However, it will still allow players the chance to impress for a starting spot.

La Roja qualified for the Euros by finishing top of their group with seven wins from eight. Though, despite their dominance in qualifying, they were rewarded with a difficult group in the Euros. They have been drawn to play against Croatia, Italy and Albania. Northern Ireland missed out on qualification as they finished fifth in their group with nine points from 10 games, only above minnows San Marino, who ended pointless.

Sixteen-year old Lamine Yamal has been included in the squad, and will hope to get significant minutes in this friendly. For Barcelona this season, he has scored five goals. This season, he received four caps for Spain, scoring twice. Alvaro Morata will be confident in continuing a good campaign in which he scored 15 times for Atletico Madrid in 32 games. He has also netted four in six for his country this year.

This will be the 19th meeting between the two sides, and unsurprisingly it is a matchup dominated by Spain. They have won 11 games, whilst Northern Ireland have been victorious in two. However, this will be the first time they will play each other since November 2007, when Spain won 1-0 in a Euro 2008 qualifier. Legendary midfielder Xavi scored the only goal of the game.

Spain

There is plenty of Premier League representation in the Spain squad, including Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella and Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya. Aston Villa defender and Tottenham’s Pedro Porro were left out, however. Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal will get another chance to impress.

Northern Ireland

Liverpool youngster Conor Bradley will be hoping for another chance to impress.

Spain

In their last four games, Spain have won two, drawn one and lost one. It has been a mixed stretch for Spain, though they ended their qualification campaign in strong fashion. The first game of this run was the penultimate fixture in the group phase, as they beat Cyprus 3-1 away from home. Lamine Yamal put the Spaniards ahead early, before Mikel Oyarzabal and Joselu added two more before the half hour mark. The hosts pulled one back late on, but it was nothing more of a consolation.

Georgia were on the end of the same scoreline in the next game, the final fixture of qualifying. They once again took a quick lead, through Robin Le Normand. However, this was soon cancelled out by Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Spain retook the lead with a goal from Ferran Torres, before they added an insurance with an own goal. With qualifying complete, they played two friendlies. The first was against Colombia, but they lost 1-0. It was a fairly even game throughout in terms of possession and shot attempts, though Spain edged both categories. However, it was their opponents who took their chance, with Daniel Munoz scoring the only goal of the game.

Their most recent game was a thrilling 3-3 draw with Brazil. Rodri put them ahead from the penalty spot, and Dani Olmo doubled their advantage. Rodrygo pulled one back before the break. The equaliser came shortly after the restart through Endrick. Spain thought they snatched victory with another Rodri spot kick, but Lucas Paqueta converted a penalty deep into stoppage time. Before they host Northern Ireland, Spain will play Andorra in another friendly on Wednesday night.

Northern Ireland

In their last five games, Northern Ireland have won two, lost two and drawn one. It has been an inconsistent stretch for Northern Ireland as they failed to qualify for the Euros. They began this run with two consecutive defeats. The first was a 1-0 loss at home to Slovenia in the group phase. They went behind very early as Adam Gnezda Cerin scored in the fifth minute. This is how the game ended, though Shea Charles got sent off for the hosts shortly into the second half.

It was a poor response as they lost again, this time 4-0 at Finland in the penultimate fixture of qualifying. The first goal did not come until the 42nd minute as Joel Pohjanpalo scored from the spot. Daniel Hakans doubled the lead immediately after the restart. Teemu Pukki and Robin Lod added two more late on to put the game to bed. They ended their mini two-game losing streak with a 2-0 win over Denmark in the final game. Northern Ireland scored their goals with their only shots on target, as Isaac Price and Dion Charles got on the scoresheet.

Two friendlies followed, the first of which being a 1-1 draw at Romania. Jamie Reid put the visitors in front, but this was cancelled out by Dennis Man not long after. They struggled to create chances once more, only managing two shots on target with 29% possession, but they were able to come away with a draw. Their latest game was against Scotland, in which they narrowly won 1-0. Incredibly, they picked up a victory with just 17% possession and one shot on target. Liverpool youngster Conor Bradley was the goalscorer.

Spain come into this in mixed form, but we expect them to go into the Euros with winning momentum. Northern Ireland will hope to put up a bit of a fight, but Spain’s superior quality should be too much for them – Spain 4-0 Northern Ireland

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Spain vs Northern Ireland will be available to watch on Premier Sports 2.

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