Spain’s bid for an unprecedented European championship three-peat kicks off on Monday, June 13, as La Furia Roja take on the Czech Republic. The Czechs are regarded as one of the weakest teams in Group D, but can they get one over on the defending champs, who are usually slow starters in major international tournaments?
Get a detailed breakdown of this Group D matchup below. And for more of Monday’s Euro 2016 action, check out our preview of Belgium vs. Italy.
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Two-time defending European champion Spain rolled through qualifying with nine wins out of 10, scoring 23 goals and conceding just three.
But there are some question marks surrounding the team entering this year’s tournament. They are coming off a shock 1-0 defeat to Georgia in their final warm-up game last Tuesday, and have now won just two of their five games this year (2-2-1).
David de Gea got the start in goal in that match, but there are now doubts as to whether he’ll be in the right frame of mind to start after serious allegations against him have surfaced recently. Team captain Iker Casillas would start in de Gea’s place, but “San Iker” was woeful in the 2014 World Cup and has only gotten worse since.
But there is some good news concerning striker Alvaro Morata, whose bruised hamstring kept him out of the Georgia game. Morata, who had nine goals in 22 games for Juventus last season, is still expected to start and be the main attacking threat for a team lacking that cutting edge in front of goal.
The Spanish will have the overwhelming advantage in terms of quality, and there won’t be any surprises when it comes to their gameplan against the Czechs. They’ll dominate possession for most of the game, and look to eventually break the Czech down.
The Czech defense isn’t the greatest – it conceded 14 goals in 10 qualifying games – and with Morata is fit and starting, La Roja stand a very good chance of turning all that domination into goals.
Spain has failed to win the opening game of its last three major international tournaments. However, it is unbeaten in four games against the Czech Republic, with wins in their last three meetings.
The Czech Republic is considered by some as possibly the weakest team in Group D, but it did top its qualifying group, which included the Netherlands, Iceland and groupmates Turkey, by winning seven and losing just twice.
The Czechs have done well under the guidance of manager Pavel Vrba and his very positive, attacking brand of football. While they will likely have to defend for long stretches against Spain, Vrba has also drilled his team to be well-organized in defense.
Vrba will have an experienced central defensive partnership of Tomas Sivok and Michal Kadlec in front of excellent goalie Petr Čech, so they’ll be reasonably tough to break down.
Vrba should also have captain Tomáš Rosický fit for the tournament opener. Rosický holds the key to the team’s attack with his excellent vision and terrific passing.
If he can incorporate the speed of their attack-minded full-backs – Pavel Kadeřábek and Theodor Gebre Selassie – as well as wingers Bořek Dočkal and Ladislav Krejčí, the Czechs could be able to expose the Spaniards’ high defensive line, which was a major issue in the 2014 World Cup.
Writer’s Prediction
Spain (-246)snaps its winless streak in tournament openers by grabbing a 2-0 win.
