Euro 2008 Team of the Day: Spain

Chickendinner predicts Runners-up

Headline Trends

» Perennial under-achievers

» Struggle against host nations and eventual winners

» Fantastic friendly results

Odds 6/1

Past Record
1964 - WINNERS
1980 - Group Stage exit
1984 - Runners-up
1988 - Group Stage exit
1996 - Quarter-finals
2000 - Quarter-finals
2004 - Group Stage exit

Group D Opponents (Spain's record in last five encounters)
Greece W3 D1 L1
Sweden W2 D1 L2
Russia W3 D2 L0

Recommended Betting

Spain to finish as runners-up - 7/1 with 888sport - They should comfortably qualify from the group although they are then likely to collide with any two of France, Italy and Holland en route to the final but they have never lost a semi-final before in this tournament so will fancy their chances.

David Villa to be top scorer - 16/1 with 888sport - Almost a forgotten man as Fernando Torres is joint front-runner with Cristiano Ronaldo but Villa boasts a better international goal ratio than Torres and will fancy his chances if Spain fulfil their potential.

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The Stats

» It's now 24 years since Spain last reached the semi-finals of the tournament.

» However, Spain have never lost a European Championship semi final.

» In 2004, the two teams who progressed above Spain in the group stage, Portugal and Greece, ended up in the final, and in 2000 Spain lost to eventual winners France in the quarters.

» Spain have now been to ten straight international tournaments without getting further than the quarter-finals.

» Of equal concern is the fact they have won just six of their last 22 games at the European Championship.

» They are however unbeaten in six encounters with Russia.

» Spain will be relieved to be in the opposite half of the draw to Austria and Switzerland - hosts have beaten and eliminated Spain the last three times they've met - England in 1996, South Korea in 2002 and Portugal in 2004.

» They could benefit from suffering a defeat early on in the tournament - four of the last five winners lost a game in the group stage.

» It may be worth practising penalties. The last time they reached the final in 1984 they won their semi on penalties but in recent years they suffered elimination from Euro 1996 on penalties (to England!) and at the 2002 World Cup to South Korea.

Form

» Spain won every single home match in the qualifying campaign.

» They are also currently in the middle of an impressive 14 match unbeaten run.

» Since the last World Cup, Spain have recorded friendly victories against Argentina, England (away), holders Greece (away), France and Italy - if they match that form in the tournament they will be unstoppable.

Motivation

» Luis Aragones has won La Liga and the Copa del Rey four times each as a club manager but this is his last chance to win an international honour before he is replaced by Vicente Del Bosque in the summer.

» Spain are always among the front-runners before the tournament and get everything right in qualifying but rarely deliver on the big stage, something they need to put right especially considering they have one of the hardest routes to the final.

Top-scorer prospect

David Villa - Don't be fooled by the Fernando Torres hype, at almost double the odds David Villa is a much-better value choice to be the tournament's top scorer.

Torres may have impressed with 24 goals in his debut Premier League season but Villa did just as well scoring 18 for struggling Valencia - more than international team-mate Raul, Samuel Eto'o and Euro rival Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Villa has also proven a more prolific international goalscorer than Torres, averaging 0.43 goals a game compared to the Liverpool striker's 0.33, and scoring seven in qualifying compared to Torres' two.

Key Man

Cesc Fabregas - The 21-year-old could be the decisive factor in whether or not Spain can finally live up to their billing at an international tournament. The midfielder's fantastic start to the season with Arsenal was fundamental to them topping the table almost uninterupted for six-and-a-half months but when he started to tire, Arsenal began to flounder.

Spain will be hoping the rest prior to the tournament will be enough to re-energise Cesc to his best form. Fabregas featured at the last World Cup, including starting the Second Round loss to France but started as a squad player - this year things should be different as he begins the tournament a key part of Aragones' plans.