In 2021, Spain finished third in an atypical edition of the European Championship, with Pedri Gonzalez named the best young player. Two years later, La Roja will begin a new adventure, hoping it ends with their first major trophy since 2012.
Spain is heavily favored in the soccer lines to defeat Norway in the opener of the EURO 2024 qualifiers, but the Lions are thirsty for revenge after missing the 2021 edition and the 2022 World Cup.
Spain: No Gem
The first match of a tournament, even a qualifying one, is always special, but this one will be even more so since Luis de la Fuente will be making his official debut as Spain’s head coach.
De la Fuente included a couple of surprises in the call-up, like leaving goalkeeper David de Gea out or giving Pedri Gonzalez a chance despite the young fellow not having played in recent weeks due to injury. Unfortunately for him, Gonzalez didn’t recover and won’t be able to suit up.
Even so, Spain deserves to be heavily favored in the soccer odds, where it offers a -300 price to win straight up. Spain has won 22 straight home games in EURO qualifiers, and players like Joselu and Kepa are eager to prove their worth.
Spain is a very good defensive team. La Roja conceded more than one goal only three times in its last 15 games in all competitions. Yes, that was with Luis Enrique in charge, but the roster is pretty much the same.
Norway: No Phenom
Believe it or not, the absence of Pedri Gonzalez isn’t the biggest letdown about this match. Erling Haaland won’t play either due to injury. Don’t get me wrong, the Spanish Wonder Kid is great, but Haaland is the best striker in the world.
That being said, the visitors still have a competitive squad, offering a +875 price in soccer betting to win straight up. Its roster also includes Martin Odegaard, who has been crucial for Arsenal to be atop the English Premier League. Alexander Sorloth will be the top striker now; he has scored 13 goals in all competitions for Real Sociedad.
Norway won three of its last five road matches in all competitions, defeating Serbia and Sweden, two teams very similar to Spain. Serbia played in the 2022 World Cup, while Sweden was a very good surprise in the previous EURO.
Norway has nothing to lose and much to win. Even a draw would be a great result, which is offering a +395 price in the sportsbook.
Spain vs Norway Head-to-Head
- Previous Matches: 8
- Spain Victories: 5 (12 goals)
- Norway Victories: 1 (4 goals)
- Draws: 2
These two collided on the road to the previous European Championship, with Spain favored in the Las Vegas odds. Spain won the first leg 2-1 at home, with Rodrigo Hernandez and Sergio Ramos as the scorers. Joshua King saved the day for Norway in the second leg with a late goal from the penalty spot. The match finished 1-1. Both matches were extremely physical, with the referee showing at least six yellow cards.
You might want to keep in mind that Norway has never beaten Spain on the road or even snatch a point.
Spain vs Norway Match Information
- Match: Spain vs Norway
- Date/time: Saturday, March 25, 3:45 p.m. ET
- Location: La Rosaleda, Malaga, Spain
- Spain vs Norway Stream: fubo.tv
Spain vs Norway Betting Lines
Spain vs Norway picks & Predictions
No Haaland, no party. But that doesn’t mean Norway can’t put up a good fight. As mentioned before, it has enough talented players to make Spain suffer. For me, that’s also enough to recommend you include the Lions in your soccer picks. No, I don’t expect them to pull off the stunner, but I think the worst-case scenario is Norway losing by only one goal.
Spain is listed at -300 in our European Qualifiers lines. This means that if you wager $100 on Spain, you have a chance to win $33. Norway is +875, offering a chance to win $875 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives Spain a 75.00% chance to win, with Norway at 10.26%.
