Spain's 1-0 win over Italy is the BEST performance yet of EURO 2024 by far! - Craig Burley | ESPN FC 

German here, we are already afraid of the probable matchup with Spain in the Quarter Final. There are actually people arguing we should lose to Switzerland to dodge Spain. Tells you a lot of how strong Spain is valued

Regardless if Spain win the tournament or not. Spain are playing beautiful football

If Spain beats Croatia is because Croatian players are old and can’t play anymore, if Spain beats Italy dominating the entire game is because Italy are so bad and don’t have any world class players. What a bunch of excuses. But before they call it the group of death.

Spain and Germany are the only team that has played well so far… period.

Spain along with Germany have arguably been the best teams so far

The Spain-Scotland game Craig is talking about was from a year ago, with a 11 which didn't have Unai Simon, their 2 center backs, starting full backs, Pedri, Ruiz, Nico Williams, Yamal or Morata. Not an ideal reflection of who Spain are.

They always hate on Spain. They acting like Italy is a bad team and cant defend. Simon is a good keeper. Spain has the two best wins and they acting like were in Englands or Portugals group instead.

Frank swiftly slipped in England like we wouldn't notice 💀😂

ESPN out here criticizing Spain when Spain the only team that has played played a big team in Croatia and Italy, except France that played Netherlands today

Italy and croatia ( former world cup semifinalist and euro champions) are a joke, but hungary scotland and england are world beaters lol

Craig says that Spain start well and then someone thrashes them. Who was the last to thrash them? Last 3 times they went out on penalties.

Spain beats Italy and Croatia and they say let's not get overhyped. Meanwhile Germany has beaten 2 teams that will be very lucky to qualify the next World Cup. Spain has lost games in the past that brings them down. Meanwhile Germany has lost in the first round the last 2 world cups, loses this year against the likes of Japan at home. Beat England to really rank them? What a joke. England??? It's unbelievable how much these guys love to bring the English into comparisons. A team that has proven 0 in my lifetime.

Look at them, so scared to see Spain rise again 😂

They've played two top 10 ranked teams in the world in the group of death and not getting credit? No other team has had this tough of a draw so far...

This spain looked like 2012 version . If they continue this play no one stopping them

ESPN has a grudge against Iberia (Spain & Portugal). It seems they have a hard time ever praising anything these selections do well in and instead focus any negative they can find. Example the game Portugal played they won, had over 70% possession, 7 to 1 shots on goal and they're title was "Did Portugal Deserve To Win?". Clowns.

Craig " They meet their match & get spanked" When??? We lost to Morocco on penalties... We won the Nations League & lost previous final to France (Referee assisted Mpabbe goal) Lost last Euro Semi Final to Italy on penalties... What's he talking about? When do we get SPANKED?? 🤔

It's interesting to see comments about Spain needing to prove themselves against "strong" teams like England, France, or Germany. Let's not forget that Spain has been consistently impressive in recent years, winning the UEFA Nations League and demonstrating strong performances in the Euro qualifiers. Meanwhile, England, often touted as a favorite, has not won a major title since 1966. Spain's recent victories over Italy and Croatia show their current form is solid. Perhaps it's time to recognize Spain's capabilities and not dismiss their potential based on outdated perceptions.

Wasn't this supposed to be the group of death? All of a sudden this was an easy group.

They forget Spain reached Semi finals in the last Euros

Craig definitely got a grudge against Spain 😂

They'll say the same thing if Spain beats France and Germany.. They'll say they're waiting for Spain to face a bigger fish ..maybe "eNgLaNd" 😂

Spain were incredible. Best football of the tournament

Spain’s performance against Italy was absolutely dominant and sure they should’ve scored more goals given the way that they played and managed to cause so many problems, you have to be impressed with their display despite winning the game thanks to yet another own goal in this tournament. Alongside Germany, they’ve been one of the only top teams who’ve been impressive at the EUROs so far, I’ve not been convinced with France and England yet, I need to see more of Portugal a well and anybody can win this tournament to be honest it’s very open. Even though it’s 2 games, they literally topped a group that contains both Italy and Croatia and beat them while utilizing different style of play. I do agree to a certain extent that Italy aren’t the same team they were 3 years who when they won the EUROs, it was always going to be a difficult test for them and Spain were up for it as they played some unbelievable football they were always looking to attack they moved the ball around so well they were threatening and there was this feeling that every time they go forward they would score a goal. They made sure that Italy didn’t have any ideas when they wanted to attack and go forward as they didn’t really give anything away at the back simply because their offense was so poor. For me, Spain are like the complete opposite of England because even after scoring a goal sure they didn’t kill off the other team, but at least they didn’t sit back and stop playing football, meanwhile in a game England can play 20 good minutes score a goal early and then sit back play defensive and get outplayed. Nico Williams was unplayable and he had their defense on fraud alert since minute 1, alongside Lamine Yamal who is breaking ankles for fun with the way he’s getting past defenders with ease and it’s hard to believe that he’s 16 years old alongside Pedri who’s fit and looks like his usual self again on the ball, think of it this way, Spain aren’t a team reliant on dominating possession as yes they can play 1,000 passes in a game, Yamal and Williams make their attack so fluid and unpredictable and Pedri is a master at pulling the strings in midfield when he’s fully healthy and you have those 3 in top form and if other players like Rodri Alvaro Morata Dani Carvajal Laporte etc their experienced players also contribute, they have to seriously be contenders for the EUROs, the only downside is that they’ll face Germany in the quarterfinals since both teams have topped their group.

Replace spain with England , then they'll be like oh my god greatest team od all time foden is best , Bellingham is best midfielder of all time , kane is better than r9 , rice is best cdm , blah blah bunch of Clowns 🤡🤡☠️☠️

Tbf Morrocco just defended for 120 minutes and waited for pens. So its not like Spain got beat by them.

France aren't going to win this euros 😂😂

Spain has been THE MOST IMPRESSIVE team so far.... Victories Over a TOUGH Croatian side and 4🏆× WORLD & DEFENDING EURO🏆 Champs ITALIA!!! Who did Germany beat Hungary & Scotland???😂😂😂😂😂

Spain is already a favourite to win this tournament, let’s wait till they face the better teams is nonsense. With the exception of Portugal, France and Germany the rest of the teams are rubbish.

He keeps saying the center backs are poor like that's a fact, Laporte is a top class center back ffs, and Le Normand is very good one of the best in la liga

Germany looks impressive but they are in one of the easiest groups of the Euro and they showed big defensive deficiencies

If Spain can finish all their chances well then they are good to go, cus i don't see them struggling creating chance. If those xGs are converted, God then we have a show. Nigerian supporting Spain. Let's go Spain ❤️

As an England supporter (i would say disappointed but not really as you get used to it) - Spain have been the most impressive team I've watched so far at this Euros. Germany have been great as well but i think the competition has been easier. Spain made Italy look like scrubs for large portions of that match.

Shame on you!!! Enjoy football!!! Spain plays the BEST football. Period.

By very far, what Spain does is a different sport

Creig need a life you alwys want to be notice...SPAIN PLAYING GOOD ALL ROUND CREIG ACT LIKE IT ITS SCOTLAND SPAIN PLAYED

SMH ESPN pundits has serious issues giving Spain and FC Barcelona any kind of praise 😂😂 cmon boys, give the flowers where the petals a due boys

For good sake let this guys stop acting as if Cucurella is a bad player. He graduated from La masia, captained Spanish under 17 and did well at Brighton. Every player with the exception of Palmer flopped at Chelsea and when players leave Chelsea they perform well again. This Spanish team is only behind France in terms of talent and a better team than any other team in this competition.

Best Team so far Germany second

Spain is definitely gonna win the Euro.

Spain never gets the credit they deserve. Same with players. Xavi or iniesta not winning ballon d'or had to do with being spanish and not being from a more "exotic" nation.

Spain really hurt espn?

Is Craig feeling okay?

Spain plays so good in the group stage and yes it's true that they have a long way to go through the tournament, Frank and Craig should worry more about France and England because the way they play is nowhere near Spain.

Nico Williams has said that the only club he would go to is Barca ... if that was not possible he would stay with Bilbao

A strong Team like ENGLAND? you are having a laugh lol I mean Austria Turkey would beat England in a Heartbeat

Brazil was a shadow when they played Spain even though it was a draw.

By watching every other strikers from other team, you cant blame morata, morata has had decent attempts and he has scored also. So morata haters need to shut up. These are the same people who don't know how spain plays, underestimate the team every time and once team starts tournament, they start praising it. Same will happen with morata.

The team that lost to Morocco is a different team a year and half ago

People forget that Spain was dominant in 2021 aswell, and played a similar game against my Italy in that semi-final. The difference was we had Chiellini and Bonucci who could get us to the pentalties where Donnarumma shines, aswell as pre-injury Chiesa who was unpredictable. If Spain were slightly more lucky they would have already won the last euros and probably trashed England in the Finals

Lamine Yamal, Pedri and Nico Williams (soon-to-be Barça player) kickstarted the reign of Spain dynasty 2.0 .. Add Gavi, Balde, Fermin Lopez and Cubarsi and it'll be Barça national team all over again 💙❤️🇪🇦🔥

If it wasn’t for Donnaruma, it would have been 3-0 at least

Let’s be honest No one is playing the way these pundits predicted which making them more confused they were before starting of the Euros 😂😂😂

England?portugual?? seriously???????

The fact that nobody mentioned that Spain just won the Nations League (all the strong teams played it and wanted to win it.) Also, Italy is the current Euro Champion and undermining Italy is a great mistake. Italy and Croatia both still have a lot to say in this tournament. I am a Spaniard and most of us feel strong ties with them so I really hope they make it out of the groups stage.

Spain is literally cruising in what would be the group of death… what is the long long way to go? Euros is just about 6 top teams, 4 alright ones and the rest are basically terrible.

Donnarumma almost saved a point for Italy ALL BY HIMSELF. No question why he is the team captain. Absolute masterclass.

Waiting for Spain to go all the way to the quarters/ semis before rating them and predicting how far they can they can go😂😂jokers

Le Normand is one of La Liga’s best defenders and Laporte like Kante is clearly not Saudi quality. The defence is so fine they didn’t even take Cubarsi.

Italy is now a second tier futballing nation. Sad. Coming from an Azzurri fan but facts are facts.

Aside from France and Germany, what bigger fishes are there to fry besides the defending champs and WC silver medalist?? 😂 Yeah we might have other bigger fishes but England aren't part of it 😂😂

Funny what Spain can do when Luis Enrique is out of the picture.

Put sone respect on Morata. He's the third best goalscoarer in Euros history after all.

I am at a loss here. Who are these teams that are really really great that Spain has to worry about? England has played terrible not only in this tournament, but they lost to Iceland coming into it. France has played mediocre and Mbappe is a big question mark. They tied Canada coming into this tournament. That leaves only Germany and possibly the Netherlands. So who are these teams that Spain has to worry about??

Before the tournament they said they aren't sure if Spain will leave the group

As a German fan, i absolutely hate Spain, i can't stand them since they eliminated us in the 2010 world cup, but i can't be biased either, their performance vs Italy was the best of the tournament for me.. I mean, i still regard Italy to be an elite team, and usually, they are very adept in defending, but Spain balled them, Spain were unlucky not to score more.. I watched the match hoping Italy would win, but Spain was too good for them.. I firmly see Spain as the main favourites so far based on the kind of control they have over games, they are the most balanced team in the competition at the moment, i haven't yet located a weakness in their team, unfortunately.. But like i said, i am never a biased individual..

People bias against Spanish national team and la liga needs to be studied

Which one is it? If Spain beats Italy, “ we shouldn’t get excited we have seen this movie before, it was a once off performance, lets not read into it”. Yet in the same breath “ this is a team that was beaten by Scotland”. Now should we read into Scotlands performance against Spain a while ago?

"There are bigger fish to fry".... which fish are we talking about here? The diabolical England or France?

I’m not a supporter of Spain but they are the most entertaining. Only thing that knocks them out of Europe’s is their finishing. If they had a good finisher like Torres or Villa they would be absolutely lethal.

Craig your are wrong 😢about Spain I do not know what you are talking about. I really I agree with Don.

Morocco was great though. 😅 this guy makes it seem like losing to them in the World Cup was outrageous

I disagree

Did Craig even watch the match 😂😂😂

You guys are talking about Spain 🇪🇸 people ,news papers must not carried away, but in England they are busy hyper England national team, I wonder which better team in this competition 🤔?as far as I see it's Spain 🇪🇸 and Germany 🇩🇪

Hopefully with the way the pundits of ESPN always seem to get proven wrong by the teams they doubt, hopefully Spain will be winning the euros :)

The only reason they refuse to accept spain supremacy could be a hint that they might be the winners of this euro but don't want to hype up this more than necessary

I get where Craig is coming from. As good as Spain has been, how many times have they let us down when they’ve need to win games. Since there euros win in 2012 they’ve had just as if not more talent then any other country yet they have failed to win games when it matters the most. They are up and down and that’s why it’s hard to be all in. Spain is just unpredictable and that’s what scares me now. They need to be consistent and dominate when they need to be

Craig is spot on because Spain won 6 nil in their opener at the World Cup and still went home early doors

Spain should have won by a larger margin. Quite disappointing

For all the talent and control of the game, in the end Spain won by a solitary own goal. Craig has a point. I don’t think Italy are as bad as they say, they had a poor game, and Spain were good. But this is tournament football, anyone can beat anyone in a single match and teams need to peak in the latter stages not the group stage.

Problem for Spain is they are scheduled to face Germany in the quarter finals and they would lose that game to the home team

Of course they will hate on Spain 😂😂😂

Cucurella is the best defender in terms of performance... why you calling his name...? Smh...

To Craig’s point…you can say that about all the favourite sides really. Germany aint been tested at all. France was tested by the Dutch and got lucky. So it’s all up in the air. For me Spain has the hardest group and last 2 games against high ranked nations has been fairly easy for them

That previous spain was the famously inflexible Luis (no Plan B) Enrique's Spain

Italy would have drawn this game if their plan was catenaccio, counter and trying their luck with free kicks and corners. Its useless to run forward to press if after that you have to always run back, its useless to play short from the back with donnarumma. All the english should remember that we won an euro while in a transition period with lack of quality, you cant even win when you are the favourite.

Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams up front in Barça colors next season will floss their teeth with anyone who stands in their way 💀

Vamos 🇪🇸

Hi ESPN. This group was THE group of death, and Spain have been tearing the group apart. Why Sid was not on this episode to kick some sense into them?

The coach who took them to World Cup is not the same coach they have now??? Yes Spain feel nervy sometimes but hey they are performing very well. Nobody is saying they are going to win the tournament but as of now there are few teams who want to play them ATM.

I get what the Man I saying tho. Spain look absolutely brilliant and I have them as my No. 1 to win the entire thing. But then again, France, Netherlands, Portugal, Germany or even England have the physicality, technicality and talent to match them. So until Spain beats some, people will still have doubts.

Italy can be a world power in football if the management improves..

The argument shouldn't be about whether player is playing in the Saudi league or epl or which ever top European league. Kante is in

Vamos España

Spain played very well so far, only I see a common problem when the opponent team defended well they can’t score, Croatia started poorly and Spain took the opportunity but in the second time nothing, check game statistics, and against Italy they play very well but they didn’t score the goal…

"eNgLaNd aRe tHe fAvOriTeS bY fAr" 😂👍🤡

Good game by Spain.

I’m the biggest Spain fan, but I can agree let’s not get carried away. They can make it far but winning the competition? I’m not sure. I’m actually scared they will lose to a defensive team like they ALWAYS do

Any teams this tournament can beat any other team in a one off.