Spain - Defending champions have to exorcise past ghosts

Spain

Exactly ten years ago it was impossible to imagine that Spain would win Euro-World Cup-Euro in sequence, something never done before. Reality is that, with Real and Barça as their main source of players, and the great leadership of Del Bosque, they’ve written one the most golden pages in the history of football.

 For that they are one of the main contenders to win, but the World Cup in Brazil brought back ghosts from the past, and we will have to wait and see which Spain is showing at France.

How they qualified

Spain had a very stress-free group and confirmed that qualifying in a very easy way, with only a blip in the radar, happening just after the disastrous World Cup. They won all the other matches and qualification was just a pro form.

Squad

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

Defenders: Marc Bartra (Barcelona), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Hector Bellerin (Arsenal), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Juanfran (Atletico Madrid).

Midfielders: Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Mikel San Jose (Athletic Bilbao), Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea), Thiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich), Bruno Soriano (Villarreal), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Koke (Atletico Madrid).

Forwards: Pedro (Chelsea), David Silva (Manchester City), Alvaro Morata (Juventus), Aritz Aduriz (Athletic Bilbao), Nolito (Celta Vigo), Lucas Vazquez (Real Madrid).

Andrés Iniesta

Club : Barcelona (SPA)

Age : 32 years

Is the last offensive reference of the golden generation that swept football away, conquering titles that always escaped them.

 Iniesta is a very gifted player, with a great agility and balance, that make him one of the best carriers of the ball in world football. With that comes an ability to appear in the great moments, scoring the winning goal in 2010 and being awarded the best player of Euro 2012.

 Without a great striker, Iniesta will have to create goals again, a task where he surely can show all his qualities.

Lucas Vásquez

Club : Real Madrid (SPA)

Age : 24 years

One of the many players that goes through the ranks of Real Madrid, does a good season away from the Bernabeu, and then comes back and tries his luck. Vásquez is a right winger that Zidane liked and started betting on, with good results. Vásquez played and scored a penalty in the Champions League final, and will have is first international cap this summer.

Vicente Del Bosque

An icon of Real Madrid, he arrived in 1968 as a young player and only left in 2003 after bringing back the club’s glory with two Champions League with the Galáticos that Florentino Pérez idealized.

 He arrived to the national team after 2008 was able to elevate Spain to immortality status. The regeneration of the team seems a bit stagnated and the Euro should help some decisions being made.

What to expect from them?

A big sign of the ability of Del Bosque to change and adapt his team, will be who he starts as his goalkeeper. The choice of De Gea seems the only logical one, but Casillas was the captain in the wins of recent history and is the most capped player in Spain’s history.

 Tactically there won’t be any surprises, with that 4-3-3 based in Guardiola’s Barcelona, and with the pass-and-movement forever present. It’s a system that teams have been learning how to beat and the best players have to be in their top form for Spain to go for glory again.

FIL's Starting XI prediction