The European Championship -- also known as Euro 2024 -- will start on Friday, June 14th.

Let's get prepped for the action by diving into Group B.

All betting odds come from the Euro 2024 odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Euro 2024 Group B

(FIFA ranking in parenthesis)

• Spain (8th)
• Italy (9th)
• Croatia (10th)
• Albania (66th)

Euro 2024 Outright Winner Odds

• Spain: +750
• Italy: +1800
• Croatia: +4400
• Albania: +43000

Odds to Win Group B

• Spain: -110
• Italy: +175
• Croatia: +450
• Albania: +3500

Odds to Advance Out of Group B

• Spain: -2300
• Italy: -800
• Croatia: - 310
• Albania: +320

Odds to Reach the Quarterfinals

• Spain: -250
• Italy: -140
• Croatia: +145
• Albania: +1400

Group B Schedule

• Matchday 1
  • Spain vs. Croatia, June 15th, 12 p.m. EST
  • Italy vs. Albania, June 15th, 3 p.m. EST
• Matchday 2
  • Croatia vs Albania, June 19th, 9 a.m. EST
  • Spain vs Italy, June 20th, 3 p.m. EST
• Matchday 3
  • Croatia vs. Italy, June 24th, 3 p.m. EST
  • Albania vs Spain, June 24th, 3 p.m. EST

Group B Team-by-Team Outlook

Spain

In a four-year stretch from 2008 to 2012, Spain dominated international soccer, winning the Euros twice (2008 and 2012) and the 2010 World Cup. Since then, they have been decent but have yet to return to the dizzying heights of those golden years. In the last three World Cups, they were eliminated in the Group Stage once and the Round of 16 twice. In the last two Euros, they were eliminated in the Round of 16 (2016) and semi-finals (2021).

Spain enter Euro 2024 with the fifth-best odds to win Euro 2024 -- behind England, France, Germany, and Portugal. La Roja were back to their very best in qualifying, losing only once and winning each of their other seven matches against an admittedly weaker group (the second-best team was Scotland [39th in FIFA's World Rankings]. In qualifying, they finished third in goals/90 (2.88) and seventh in goals allowed/90 (0.63).

As it was for years during their title-winning run, Spain's strength is still their midfield. In Rodri and Pedri, La Roja have an exceptional duo capable of leading a title-winning campaign this summer. Up front, Alvaro Morata is expected to start after scoring 20 goals in 42 appearances for Atletico Madrid -- he is favored to lead Spain in goals in Germany. He will be joined by 16-year-old Barcelona star Lamine Yamal, who appeared in 47 games (La Liga and Champions League) in his first full professional season, recording five goals and seven assists.

With a mix of youth and experience, Spain have what it takes to perform well in Group B and make a deep run in Germany.

Italy

To say it's been a strange six-year stretch for Italy would be an understatement. After failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup (first time since 1958), they rebounded immediately by winning Euro 2020 with a victory over England (at Wembley) in the final. They followed that up by failing to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. So, here Italy are again, looking to make their mark at the Euros after a shocking failure to qualify for the World Cup.

Italy enter Euro 2024 tied with Belgium and the Netherlands with the sixth-best odds to win Euro 2024.

Gli Azzurri's qualifying campaign did little to calm their supporter's nerves heading into Germany. Drawn into Group C alongside England, Italy finished second with four wins, two draws, and two losses. While disappointing, their losses -- both against England -- are defensible given the strength of The Three Lions. Their draws against North Macedonia (who eliminated them from World Cup Qualifying in 2022) and Ukraine were far more concerning. All in all, Italy ranked ninth in goals/90 (2.0) and tied for 24th in goals allowed/90 (1.13).

Italy's new manager, Luciano Spalletti, finished second (behind only Pep Guardiola) in FIFA's 2023 Best Men’s Coach Award for his excellent season at Napoli. It remains to be seen if that success will translate to the national team, but there is reason for optimism ahead of his first major tournament.

Italy's roster has some stars, including goalie Gigi Donnarumma, who won Player of the Tournament in Euro 2020, and Arsenal's Jorginho in the midfield, but Italy also have several question marks. The largest question mark is at striker. Eleven different players combined to score Italy's 16 goals in qualifying, with seven players scoring once and no one scoring more than three times. England, France, and Portugal's attacks are all led by established stars. Italy will need one to emerge this summer to make a deep run in Germany.

Croatia

Croatia's success at the last two World Cups (second in 2018 and third in 2022) was extremely impressive. They have been unable to replicate that success at the Euros, falling in the Round of 16 in both 2016 and 2020. Sitting at 10th in FIFA's World Rankings, Croatia's inclusion in Group B solidified the group as the "Group of Death" for this summer's tournament -- it is the only group to feature three teams ranked inside the top 10 in the World Rankings.

In qualifying, Croatia finished second in Group D, one point behind Turkey, with five wins, one draw, and two losses. Their defense was exceptional -- they tied for the fourth-fewest goals allowed/90 (0.50) -- but their attack let them down with just 1.63 goals/90 (21st).

That formula is a familiar one for Croatia. At the 2022 World Cup, the scored four goals against Canada but combined for just two across five matches against Morocco, Belgium, Japan, Brazil, and Argentina -- relying on their defense to reach penalty kicks and advance.

Now 38 years old, superstar midfielder Luka Modric remains the engine of Croatia's midfield. He started all eight of their qualifying matches, playing at least 83 minutes in all but one of them and scored a goal in their most recent friendly, a 2-1 victory over Portugal on June 8th. Manchester City star Josko Gvardiol will anchor Croatia's defense. In the midfield, veteran starters Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic will renew their long established partnership with Modric. Up front, Hoffenheim's Andrej Kramaric led Croatia is goals in qualifying (4) and is coming off an excellent season in the Bundesliga, with 15 goals from 11.1 expected goals -- per FBRef. Veteran forward Ivan Perisic is back, as well.

Underlying metrics indicate that Croatia was fortunate to reach the semifinals at the 2022 World Cup. In their four draws against Morocco, Belgium, Japan, and Brazil, they were outscored on xG 3.2 to 7.1. Their results in qualifying indicate that they will opt for a similar path in Germany this summer. While their results are rarely convincing, Croatia's squad is not short on experience and knows how to survive and advance in major tournaments. They face a difficult path, but this side has successfully navigated this road before.

Albania

Albania, ranked 66th in the World Rankings, is the odd team out in the Group of Death, but they could make things difficult for Spain, Italy, and Croatia. They earned their place in Germany by putting together an exceptional defensive display in qualifying -- winning Group E while allowing 0.50 goals/90, tied with England, Croatia, and Romania for fourth-fewest.

Albania has never qualified for the World Cup and will be competing in the Euros for just the second time in their team's history. They last qualified in 2016 but were eliminated in the group stages with one win and two losses.

Albania did benefit from a weaker qualifying group that did not include a team ranked higher than 27th -- Poland (28th) and Czechia (36th) were their most difficult opponents. That said, when facing that duo, they performed very well, with a 1-0 loss and 2-0 win against Poland and a 1-1 draw and 3-0 win against Czechia.

At +43000, Albania's odds to win the tournament are tied for last with Georgia, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Their odds to qualify from Group B paint a brighter picture -- they sit at +320. That is largely due to the format of the Euros, where the top two teams in each group plus the four best third-place finishers (from six groups) move on to the knockout stages. Albania will be significant underdogs in all three of their matches, but if they carry over their defense from qualifying, they could make things difficult for at least one of the other teams in this group.

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