Will the Spanish tiki-taka be a success? The stopper duo is French. Will the teenager bring them to the limelight?

The Spanish are heading to the Euros as one of the favourites. But their last tournaments have not gone well at all. The golden era is behind them, but new young blood is coming to Germany. Last year, they dominated the Nations League. Will the Iberian team be able to advance out of the “death group” and win medals?

Recent tournaments

So let’s start with the 2018 World Cup. The Spaniards advanced out of the group from first place ahead of Portugal, Iran and Morocco. In the eighth round they faced the home team Russia and when the score was 1-1 after 90 minutes, there was an extra time in which no goal was scored. This was followed by a penalty shootout, which Russia used to knock out Spain.

The Spaniards wanted to make up for it at the Euros. They had already got out of the group with only one win and two draws from second place. In the eighth round, they beat the Croatians 5-3 in a shootout.

In the quarter-finals they knocked out the Swiss on penalties. But the semi-final was the final for them as they ran into Italy, who eventually dominated the whole tournament. On penalties, the Spaniards lost 2: 4 and said goodbye to the Euro.

The last major tournament, the World Cup in Qatar in the winter of 2022, also did not end in medals for them. They eventually made it out of the group due to a better score over Germany. However, they faced the sensation of the tournament, Morocco, in the eighth round. Not a single goal was scored in the entire 120 minutes and the winner was decided by penalties. The Spaniards did not score a single one and finished their journey through the tournament in the eighth round.

Tough defence

One of the pair of David Raya or Unai Simón will stand in goal for Spain. Both have great footwork, which suits Spain’s style of play.

The midfield pairing will most likely consist of two players who have recently changed nationalities – Aymeric Laporte and Robin Le Normand. Both of them have accepted that they will not play in the French national team and have changed their nationality to Spanish.

On the right edge of defence, long-time Real Madrid stalwart Dani Carvajal will start, and may be replaced by the oldest member of the squad, Jesús Navas (38). On the other side of the defence, however, it will be more of a struggle. Both Alejandro Grimaldo and Marc Cucurella are adepts for the starting line-up and it will be up to coach Luis de la Fuente to decide who he gives space to.

Confidence and youth

The centre of midfield will definitely be made up of Manchester City mainstay Rodri, who is the successor to Sergio Busquets. Alongside him will be one of Barcelona’s talents, namely 21-year-old Pedri. And as a third central midfielder, PSG’s Fabián Ruiz, Real Sociedad’s Mikel Merino, or the more attacking option of Dani Olmo could feature.

One of the team’s biggest stars is a teenager, 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, who plays regularly for Barcelona. By his own admission, he is taking homework and will be taking online classes in Germany. One of the stars, Ferrán Torres, may also jump in for him, and he may also play on the wing.

On the left wing, young Nico Williams (21) will run around. After a great season in the Bilbao ranks, he is going to his first big tournament. Fermín Lopez is expected to fight for a roster spot with Williams.

Álvaro Morata will be battling it out with unexpected Real Madrid hero Joseul. Morata managed to score 21 goals for Atlético Madrid last season, while Joselu scored only 4 less. Whether one or the other comes on, the Spanish attack will be very dangerous.

Will they even make it through the group?

The Spaniards will face Croatia in the group, whom they beat in the Nations League final. Then they will face the defending champions Italy, who ended their last championship journey.

And in the last group match, they will face the unpredictable Albania. Will it be another failed tournament for Spain? We’ll see on June 15 when they open their Euro journey against the Croatians.

Source: X, UEFA, Transfermarkt