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New finalists, familiar title contenders at expanded Euros
- Updated: June 3, 2016
LONDON (AP) — The European Championship enters a new era with Spain seeking to reassert its old supremacy.
Invincible between 2008 and 2012 while claiming back-to-back European titles and finally tasting World Cup glory , the Spanish halo slipped two years ago with a humiliating blowout in Brazil.
How better to show that the first-round elimination in 2014 was just a blip than by completing a hat trick of European titles in Paris on July 10. It will be a tougher challenge than before, with the Euros growing by eight teams to 24 in France.
Although Spain’s national team has not collected a trophy since Euro 2012, domestic clubs have swept up continental trophies for the three seasons. The Champions League has been won by Real Madrid (twice) and Barcelona while Sevilla completed a hat trick of Europa League titles in May.
The sternest challenges in France for Vicente del Bosque’s team are likely to come from World Cup holder Germany and the host nation, boasting a talented young squad but whose plans have been derailed – as so often – by off-field controversy.
Then there is the next rung of contenders yet to conquer the continent, just the type of teams Del Bosque fears.
A golden generation of Belgium players, embodied by Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard, has to live up to their promise and start delivering on the international stage for the world’s second-ranked team. England is defensively susceptible but has a plethora of fresh attacking options, including Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford, capable of challenging if not emerging with winners’ medals.
”It’s very difficult – very difficult – because there are other teams that have been far from big titles for the last few years and need to win this,” said the 65-year-old Del Bosque, who could be entering his last tournament as Spain coach. ”We want to get rid of whatever happened in the past and face the future as a big challenge.”
Unlike at the World Cup, Spain’s title defense can surely not end at the first hurdle in France this month. Croatia, the Czech Republic and Turkey await in Group D and even a third-place finish could be sufficient to advance in the …
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