Spain

Spain, the perennial underachievers. Not anymore. The European Champions cruised to the title of World Champions in South Africa after a minor hiccup against Switzerland. They continually nullified matches through their constant possession, before scoring the one goal required to beat their opponents. Getting the ball off them seemed difficult, keeping it for long enough to create a goalscoring opportunity felt almost impossible. Yet, despite Spain’s flawless qualifying campaign there is a sense that their air of invincibility is thinning. Nobody likes a certainty. It defies the unpredictability aspect of sport that makes it so special. Everyone is willing to try that little bit harder. To throw an extra tackle in. To sit and think that little bit longer about how to defeat the tournament favourites. So much so that even friendlies take on a more competitive edge. Due to this the losses to Argentina, Portugal, Italy and England, the four highest ranked opponents in the last two years, albeit all in friendly matches, have proved significant. It has given nations hope that La Furia Roja (The Red Fury) can be defeated. The recent semi-final exits from Barcelona and Real Madrid in the Champions League has added to this concept. Yet, you would be daft to believe that Spain has placed even a toe on the slippery slope to obscurity. They are still the team to beat and are nothing but entertaining. In the 19 international matches since the World Cup final in Johannesburg there have been on average 3.6 goals per game and there has never been a 0-0 draw. A string of world-class players could all represent Spain in this summer’s finals. Barring injury Iker Casillas will don the Number 1 shirt and captain the nation. The Real Madrid keeper has represented his country 128 times, the most in Spain’s history. Still only 30 Casillas’ cat-like reflexes have kept 72 international clean sheets and have enabled him to win every major club and national tournament. Influential centre-back Carles Puyol is set to miss the tournament and one of the most potent strikers in world football David Villa is still struggling to recover after breaking his leg in December. Spain have enough quality throughout the pitch, although their all-time record goalscorer may be hard to replace. Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique are almost certainties for a starting defensive role. Ramos is renowned for his attacking presence from right-back whereas Pique’s controlled technique will aid him in starting off the Spanish passing game from the back. The midfield sees Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas, Busquets, Pedro, Silva, Mata and Xabi Alonso all vying for a spot on the plane to Poland, let alone a shirt that will confirm that they will play. Vincente del Bosque certainly has some huge decisions to make in this department but with David Villa potentially unavailable up front, a five man midfield may incorporate more of these major stars. For me it has to be the same four that started the World Cup final in 2010 with Silva replacing Pedro. Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets are fundamental to how the Spaniards play whereas Xabi Alonso goes from strength to strength. His control, pin-point long passing from his exceptional vision and calm head make him a driving force in the national side and undoubtedly he played a huge role in Real Madrid’s title winner season. With Villa potentially unavailable and Torres not really finding true form at Chelsea yet, the striker position is up for grabs. Fernando Llorente has impressed for Athletic Bilbao and could certainly play as the lone frontman. His height and technical ability make him a quality Peter Crouch. However, it was Roberto Soldado who took his international chance. Replacing Llorente in the game against Venezuela at half-time, the Valencia striker scored a hat-trick and had one goal disallowed. Sevilla’s Alvaro Negredo is another option. It is safe to say that Vincente del Bosque has a lot of decisions to make. Each player in the 23 man squad would arguably be a certain starter in other nations. Their group is not easy though and with Italy as an opener they could get off to a slow start. But then again, they did that against Switzerland in the World Cup and went on to be crowned champions.