Defending-champ Spain in for tough Group D test
With the expanded 24-team European Championship set to kick off ton Friday in France, we will present a group-by-group breakdown of the teams this week, beginning with Group D.
SPAIN
For all Vicente del Bosque’s confidence that he has the right balance of experience and youth to return Spain to its familiar place on the winner’s rostrum, questions remain about his best starting line-up ahead of Euro 2016.
On the surface, Spain’s qualifying record of nine wins out of 10 going into the tournament looks impressive, but it rarely delivered performances to suggest it could pick up a third successive title or banish the memories of the 2014 World Cup failure.
No one will be keener to prove the doubters wrong than Del Bosque in what looks to be his last hurrah as Spain’s coach.
Once again he can call on trusted stalwarts Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos and Cesc Fabregas, all regulars before or since the 2010 World Cup triumph, this time blending them with a new generation of young players such as Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea, Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke and Juventus striker Alvaro Morata.
CROATIA
The ability of central midfielders Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic to recover from grueling club seasons will be essential if Croatia is to make an impact at Euro 2016.
Modric has had another fine season at Real Madrid, while Rakitic shone at arch-rival Barcelona, proving an apt replacement for the club’s playmaker Xavi.
The form of both will be crucial to Croatia’s adventurous strategy which is based on its lively midfield setting up a potent threepronged attack led by towering striker Mario Mandzukic.
Euro 2016 is the eighth time Croatia has qualified for a major tournament in 10 attempts as an independent nation. This will be its fourth European Championship and it will look to at least emulate quarterfinal appearances in 1996 and 2008, when it was seconds away from advancing to the last four.
Despite being in arguably the toughest pool of the 24-nation event, the tournament’s expansion from 16 teams has given Croatia a fair chance of progressing from Group D, with the top two from each section and the best four third-place teams guaranteed knockout-stage berths.
CZECH REPUBLIC
Czech fans’ primary concern heading into France is likely to be the fitness of Tomas Rosicky, even though their side qualified without help from the gifted playmaker for half of the campaign.
The Czechs topped their qualifying group, twice beating the Netherlands, and unearthing new talent in midfielder Borek Dockal, who finished as their top scorer with four goals.
A number of key players, such as Arsenal’s Petr Cech, remain from the Euro 2012 team to give the team a mix of youth and experience.
However, Pavel Vrba’s attack-minded side lacks a proven threat up front and relies heavily on playmaking through the middle. No one does that better than a fully-fit Rosicky, although to return to the international stage at the age of 35 with scarcely any game time after a season disrupted by injury is a huge ask.
To qualify, the Czechs will almost certainly have to make history, because they have never beaten their first two opponents, Spain and Croatia.
TURKEY
Turkish fans worried that their side has been drawn in one of Euro 2016’s toughest groups can take comfort from the events of 2008 when Turkey reached the semifinals of the tournament.
Two of the Turks’ Group D opponents this time, Czech Republic and Croatia, lost to Turkey in dramatic fashion eight years ago.
First Turkey rallied from 2-0 down to beat the Czechs 3-2 and reach the quarterfinals, then it produced an even more stunning fightback against Croatia.
If it is to reach the knockout stages this time, Turkey will need all that famed resilience, which it also showed in qualifying, albeit with a slice of luck as results went its way in the other groups in the final round.
Captain Arda Turan, talented 22-year-old playmaker Hakan Calhanoglu and striker Burak Yilmaz, who joined Chinese top division side Beijing Guoan after four years at Galatasaray, are the team’s backbone.
Turkey will bank on the vast experience of its talismanic 62-year-old coach Fatih Terim, who was also at the helm in 2008 when the adventurous style won the hearts of many neutral fans at the tournament.