Spain at UEFA Euro 2016 | Squad and Stats.

Can La Furia Roja retain the title?

Spain won the European championship on 2 consecutive occasions (2008 and 2012). The title from 2012 was their 3rd from this competition. La Furia have recently become one of the strongest teams in the world. They also won the World Cup in 2010, which meant Spain were the total dominants of football in the period between 2008 and 2012. Now, the Spanish team has again, lots of very good players. In addition, Vicente Del Bosque’s team has recorded 9 victories in 10 games in the qualifying round. Moreover, La Furia Roja have only lost twice in their last 16 matches. So, we have to announce that Spain are among the favourites for winning the Euro 2016.

To continue with, Spain have recorded 17 victories in 34 matches at the European championships and only 8 defeats. La Furia Roja have been drawn in Group D with the teams of Croatia, Turkey and Czech Republic. Spain met the Croatians at the Euro 2012 and recorded a 1-0 victory with the only goal, scored by Jesus Navas in the 88th minute. Moreover, the Spaniards are on a run of 3 consecutive victories against Turkey and Czech Republic. So, there is no doubt Spain being the favourites for winning their group!

The absence of Xavi, Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso and Juan Mata, who were part of the team which won the Euro 2012 can possibly affect negatively La Furia Roja’s performance at the European championship. It’s obvious that there is no striker in the Spain’s squad, who has proven he can score lots of goals at international level. Both, Aduriz and Morata, are very talented players, but they have scored only 5 goals at international level. In comparison, Fernando Torres, who is now 32 years old, has found the net on 38 occasions for Spain. Moreover, he was in his best form at the end of the campaign. So, Spain are expected to struggle when trying to score goals.

The Squad:

• Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas, David de Gea, Sergio Rico.
• Defenders: Marc Bartra, Jordi Alba, Cesar Azpilicueta, Juanfran, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos, Hector Bellerin.
• Midfielders: Sergio Busquets, Cesc Fabregas, Bruno Soriano, Andres Iniesta, Mikel San Jose, Lucas Vazquez, Koke, David Silva, Thiago Alcantara.
• Forwards: Pedro, Aritz Aduriz, Nolito, Alvaro Morata.

Spain matches at the Euro 2016:

• 13/06/16 | Spain vs. Czech Republic | Stadium Municipal (Toulouse)
• 17/06/16 | Spain vs. Turkey | Allianz Riviera (Nice)
• 21/06/16 | Croatia vs. Spain | Stade Matmut-Atlantique (Bordeaux)

It seems that David De Gea will be the first choice for the goalkeeper position. Iker Casillas had a bad season at Porto and at the end of the campaign became a substitute player. Gerard Pique and Sergio Ramos are now experienced enough and will be key players in Spain’s defence. To continue; Del Bosque can be happy that Iniesta has still not retired from international football. Barcelona’s midfielder will again be the playmaker at maybe his last big tournament. Nolito can be included in the starting eleven, after recently showing great shape. The attack should be led by Alvaro Morata, who has shown real development as a player.

It was not a humility issue but a sporting one, 2 years ago. We lost against teams that were superior to us on the pitch. We never made excuses. We never thought we were superior or unbeatable. Vicente Del Bosque