- Best Euros
- Winners 2008 & 2012, Runner-up 1984
- 2016 Euros
- Round of 16
Spain's Euro Schedule
Date | Fixture | Location |
---|---|---|
14th June 8pm | Spain v Sweden | Seville |
19th June 8pm | Spain v Poland | Seville |
23rd June 5pm | Slovakia v Spain | Seville |
Road to the Euros
Spain experienced no alarms and no surprises on their path to the Euros, emerging unbeaten from a group containing Sweden, Norway, Romania, Faroe Islands and Malta. The only times they were seriously challenged was on their trip to Scandinavia, where they shared back-to-back 1-1 draws in Sweden and Norway, the only games in which Spain failed to score two or more goals. By then, however, they had already won their opening six games, and further home romps against Malta (7-0) and Romania (5-0) ensured they finished well clear of second-placed Sweden.
Current form
Spain found their Nations League campaign more challenging, winning only two of their opening five games, but in what was effectively a group decider, they blew Germany apart with a headline-grabbing 6-0 win. More recently, their World Cup qualifying campaign kicked off with an inauspicious 1-1 home draw with Greece, while they did little more than was required to overcome Georgia 2-1 and Kosovo 3-1. Their tournament preparations got under way with a testing goalless draw with Portugal, although their final outing against Lithuania proved meaningless in the context of the Euros, as the senior team was forced to isolate, leaving the Under-21's to take the plaudits with a 4-0 win.
Squad assessment
Spain coach Luis Enrique raised a few eyebrows, and indeed put himself under a little extra pressure, when he picked a squad devoid of any Real Madrid players, including the almost ubiquitous Sergio Ramos, who missed much of the season through injury. Nevertheless, his squad is chock-a-block with top-class players, and he has a surfeit of talent at his disposal in every position. David De Gea's decline from the Manchester United line-up probably tips the goalkeeping place in Unai Simon's favour, while the back line might have to be rejigged to accommodate Aymerick Laporte's timely change of nationality. The versatile Marcos Llorente could occupy any of a variety of positions in the back seven, while Jordi Alba's attacking abilities should give him a free rein down the left flank. In midfield, Sergio Busquets is probably the only shoe-in, with a variety of players vying to play around him, while up front, Ferran Torres has enjoyed enough good form domestically and internationally to merit a starting place, probably alongside Dani Olmos and behind preferred front man, Alvaro Morata.
Key players
Any one of the players mentioned above could end up having a telling impact in their own right, and if Spain have a positive mindset, then one of the above strikers could well end up among the tournament's top scorers. Further back, the calming presence and organisational abilities of Sergio Busquets will be a crucial building block, while Llorente down the right and Jordi Alba down the left are bound to create creative width and, at least in the group games, could well be busier in their opponent's half than in their own.
Click below to read more about each of Spain's Group E opponents: