Spain
Spain - Group B (Netherlands, Chile, Australia)
The World Champions, holding European Champions with consecutive 2008, 2012 titles, the Golden Generation of players, most of them playing for premium clubs... It seems everything is going well for Spain. It might well be. Except for the players aging and Villa losing his touch after a career threatening injury, most of the team's core is still in place and performing satisfactorily. It is no wonder that they are the team to beat not just this time around, they are since the turn of the millennium
Profile - Tiki-Taka Masters
The only team with three consecutive FIFA continental or world titles, Spain currently is the only team capable of winning matches without much effort from their strikers to score, although their strikers score frequently enough. Their tiki-taka style, often criticized for taking the fun out of games for employing false 9 strategies or using midfielders in place of attackers, can be effective to counter Argentina's possession and passing and Brazil's samba style
For a team termed to be on decline for being less dominant than their previous outings, Spain's attack is still solid enough to score in every match despite not scoring heavily. Their defense is more solid than ever but prone to letting the lead slip on certain occasions. They are their most vulnerable when they are scored against
Confederation: UEFA (Europe)
Coach: Vicente del Bosque (ESP)
FIFA Ranking: 1 (8-May-2014)
Nickname: La Roja (The Red)
Key Players: Casillas, Iniesta, Xavi, Ramos
Legends: Luis Saurez, Raul, Hierro
World Champions: 2010
History - Coming of Age
Spain were always considered to have an outside chance to win big but it never happened. Their only achievement before the back-to-back FIFA trophies is a 1964 Euro Championship which comprised of only four teams and two matches per team. The current team has added 2008, 2012 Euro and 2010 World titles to the collection which also includes 1992 Barcelona Olympic Gold
Qualification - Champion March
They topped their group, containing another Cup winner France, like champions with six wins and two draws. They gave away just three goals and scored fourteen themselves. Their only concern would be the way they let the lead slip away in their two draws against France and Finland
Prospects - Defending the Crown
The only obstacle they'd face before reaching the business end of the tourney would be their opening encounter against the Dutch, a rematch of 2010 Cup Finale. The losers of this match are bound to face Brazil in the first Knockout and Spain would be wary of such possibility knowing how strong the South Americans are at home. If they manage to top the group, they'd still have a rough path to defend their title strewn with Italy, Argentina or maybe the underdogs Belgium
Squad
Goalkeepers:
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Pepe Reina (Napoli), David de Gea (Manchester United)
Defenders:
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Juanfran Torres (Atletico Madrid), Raul Albiol (Napoli), Javi Martinez (Bayern Munich), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)
Midfielders:
Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Xavi (Barcelona), Santi Cazorla (Arsenal), Juan Mata (Manchester United), David Silva (Manchester City), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid)
Attackers:
Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid), David Villa (Atletico Madrid), Fernando Torres (Chelsea), Pedro Rodriguez (Barcelona)May 13: Vicente del Bosque announced a 30-man Provisional Squad
Fixtures
Spain vs Netherlands on June 13 at Salvador
Spain vs Chile on June 18 at Rio De Janeiro
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