Dani Osmo will be lining up against some familiar opponents when Spain faces Croatia in the round of 16 at the European Championship.

In fact, he easily could have been lining up for Croatia instead of Spain at Euro 2020.

The attacking midfielder turned down overtures from Croatia’s national team after moving to Dinamo Zagreb from Barcelona’s academy as a 16-year-old and spending six seasons at the club.

Olmo has never played senior club soccer in Spain — he moved to RB Leipzig in 2020 — but doesn’t regret his decision to stick to his home country.

“There was interest from Croatia, but I always preferred to play for Spain,” Olmo said.

The 23-year-old Olmo is part of a group of young players who have been given leading roles in Luis Enrique’s new-look Spain team. Against Croatia, he has the added role of being the in-house expert on the opposing players.