UEFA EURO 2016: Spain team preview

La Furia Roja (The Red Fury) go into this tournament as one of the favourites. William Hill has them priced at 11/2 to become the European champions, with only Germany and France fancied more. Since announcing their provisional squad, all the talk around the Spain team has been about the decision of their head coach Vicente del Bosque not to include Juan Mata, Fernando Torres, Javi Martinez, Diego Costa and, perhaps most surprisingly, Paco Alcacer who was their top scorer in the qualifying. But even without these familiar faces the squad looks strong and still contains players who won both the World Cup in 2010 and European Championship in 2012.

After winning those two big titles – and EURO 2008 before – Spain got themselves in trouble at the finals of the 2014 World Cup. They were humiliated by the Netherlands (5:1) and followed that up by losing 2-0 to Chile, before defeating Australia; however, this was too little, too late and they were sent home having failed to advance from the group stages. So now they must save face and defend their title as European champions. Maybe del Bosque is counting on the inclusion of young blood in the squad to do this. Players like Morata, Koke and Thiago, who’ve all have had brilliant seasons at club level, would suggest this is the case.

Three players from the squad below play in England, one in Germany, one in Portugal and one in the Italian Serie A. The rest all play in the Spanish Primera for leading clubs – Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao.

Euro 2016 Squad

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Porto), David de Gea (Manchester United), Sergio Rico (Sevilla)

Defenders: Sergio Ramos, Dani Carvajal (both Real Madrid), Gerard Pique,  Jordi Alba, Marc Bartra (all Barcelona), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Mikel San Jose (Athletic Bilbao), Juanfran (Atletico Madrid).

Midfielders: Bruno (Villarreal), Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Koke, Saul Niguez (both Atletico Madrid), Thiago (Bayern Munich), Isco (Real Madrid), David Silva (Manchester City), Pedro, Cesc Fabregas (both Chelsea).

Forwards: Aritz Aduriz (Athletic Bilbao), Nolito (Celta Vigo), Alvaro Morata (Juventus), Lucas Vasquez (Real Madrid).

Key Player: Cesc Fabregas

Cesc Fabregas is looking for another title with Spain and he can be vital in del Bosque’s midfield. The team needs a player who is able to provide that creative spark and Chelsea’s best assistant over the last two years fits the bill. Fabregas’ season in England was not so bright (only 10th place for Chelsea), but Euro 2016 can be the resurrection ahead of a new year under a new manager. He has the motivation to remain a key player for both Spain and Chelsea, as he will be well aware that poor performances could see him replaced by one of the many young players available. At 29 he has the added bonus of experience, vital tournament winning experience at that, and still has plenty to offer his country in their quest for a third successive European Championships.

Qualifying 

Spain lost only once during the qualification process – an away game vs Slovakia (1:2), but they did manage to win all of their other games. Unsurprisingly they came out on top of Group C with 27 points, finishing ahead of Slovakia and Ukraine. Paco Alcacer scored five times and became the groups’ joint top-scorer with Marek Hamsik (Slovakia). The most notable thing is that a single goal against Macedonia in a 5:1 win and two goals in that 1:2 loss against Slovakia were the only goals Spain conceded throughout the entire qualifying campaign.

Group Matches

Spain v Czech Republic – June 13, 2016

Spain v Turkey – June 17, 2016

Croatia v Spain – June 21, 2016

Click here for the full Euro 2016 match schedule. 

Verdict

Spain have looked solid defensively coming into this tournament, while their first opponents Czech Republic – conceded in all 10 qualifying matches – have looked anything but. With this is mind, Spain to win their first match to nil looks a good bet at 13/10. Del Bosque’s men will be looking to get off to a real flier at these finals and a convincing victory (without conceding) to start off the tournament looks very possible.

On the other hand Spain are unlikely to finish the group stage with “0” goals conceded. Even if they can handle the Czechs on match-day one, their next games against Turkey and Croatia are likely to be quite challenging. Croatia, with Mario Mandzukic and Nicola Kalinic in attack, can cause the Spanish plenty of trouble. But La Furia Roja should be capable of scoring more than enough in this group, while the other three aren’t likely to keep the numbers down either. The odds on Group D to be the highest scoring group are very tempting – 16/5 with William Hill. All four teams – Spain at the forefront – score and, in the case of the Czechs, concede a lot. I think we can expect a lot of goals here.