Spain will have no respite in the Euro Cup. The brilliant classification as first in the group has not translated into a friendly draw for Luis de la Fuente's team, which will face Croatia, Italy and Albania in Group B, the most complicated. The first two classified will go to the round of 16 and even the third, if it is among the four best of the entire first phase. A path of thorns that will force you to perform from the start of the championship.
Luck has wanted to pair the team with two of its last three rivals in the Euro Cup. It will debut on Saturday, June 15 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin against Luka Modric's Croatia, a team that suffered to qualify, but has just been a semi-finalist in the Qatar World Cup.. It was the ball that had to be avoided in the third group and they couldn't do it. Spain crossed paths with the Balkans in 2012, when they were eliminated in the group stage with a goal from Jesús Navas. The revenge came four years later, sending La Roja on a path that led to elimination and in 2020, the last precedent, they needed an extension in the round of 16 to come back at the Parken in Copenhagen.
The equality was also noted in the final of the Nations League last June, which ended with a Spanish victory on penalties. This is a team in transition, led by incombustibles such as Ivan Perisic, Marcelo Brozovic and Mateo Kovacic, who Josko Gvardiol and Lovro Majer have joined, plus veterans Bruno Petkovic and Ante Budimir.
June 20 in Gelsenkirchen
The next rival will be Italy. It was the devilish ball of the fourth bass drum. He suffered to reach the final phase after the setback of not going to Qatar, but he always wakes up in the big championships. Spain will play against the Azzurri on Thursday, June 20 in Gelsenkirchen with the memory of the 2020 semifinal at Wembley resolved on penalties in favor of Roberto Mancini's team. They got their revenge in the semifinals of the Nations League and they will meet again with the team formed by Luciano Spalletti, with Federico Chiesa, Giacomo Raspadori and Nicolo Zaniolo at the helm.
The last rival, supposedly the weakest, is called Albania, which will be measured in Düsseldorf on Monday, June 24. It is their second participation after leading their group with 15 points, ahead of rivals such as the Czech Republic or Poland, whom they have sent to the play-offs.. With Sylvinho on the bench, he has LaLiga players such as Ivan Balliu, the parakeet Keidi Bare and the Granada striker Mirko Uzuni. “You have to be very focused from the beginning because it is a very difficult group,” said the Brazilian coach.. In the memory of the previous confrontations, that 9-0 in 1990, with four goals from Emilio Butrageño.
Group B in Spain is undoubtedly the most complicated due to the power of the rivals it concentrates.. The hosts, Germany, have been paired in Group A with Scotland, Hungary and Switzerland.. The opening match, June 14 (9:00 p.m.), will pit Julian Nagelsmann's team against the British in Berlin. In Group C, England was placed alongside Jan Oblak's Slovenia, Denmark and Serbia, which will compete in this competition for the first time since its independence with players such as Dusan Vlahovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Nemanja Gudelj. In any case, Gareth Southgate will have to endure the favorite sign.
Waiting for the playoffs
A rival has emerged for France, one of the big favorites, in Group D. The Netherlands, under the direction of Ronald Koeman, will seek qualification in the company of Austria and the winner of play-off A, which must be resolved between Poland. Estonia, Wales or Finland. Belgium, another of the seeds, will face them in Group E with Slovakia and Romania and the winner of the second play-off between Israel, Iceland, Bosnia or Ukraine, the favorite after putting Italy on the ropes.
In Group D, another big favorite emerges, Portugal. Resurrected by Roberto Martínez and with an incombustible Cristiano Ronaldo at the helm, the championship will start with the Czech Republic to later receive Turkey and the last of the teams that grab the last ticket in play in March, which will be decided between Georgia, Greece, Kazakhstan or Luxembourg .