The last thing Spain want to do is get used to losing. Having won three major tournaments in a row between 2008 and 2012, the last three have represented dismal showings. The 2014 World Cup campaign ended in a whimper, with Spain losing their opening two group games to bow out of the tournament at the group stage. Two years later, a 2-0 defeat to Italy in the last 16 put paid to their hopes of winning the European Championships for a third year running, while a nightmare penalty shoot-out defeat to hosts Russia saw them exit the 2018 World Cup at the same stage.
Having looked so invincible at one stage, Spain have since looked extremely vulnerable at major tournaments. And so, the delayed Euro 2020 feels like a critical moment for the Spanish national team. Will they pick themselves up and live up to their status as one of the favourites in the Euro 2020 odds to win, or is another untimely exit on the cards?
The snowball effect
Ahead of the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, the pressure on Spain was huge. Having won the European Championships in both 2008 and 2012, with the World Cup triumph in South Africa sandwiched in between, people were asking whether anyone could stop Spain, or if we were witnessing the beginning of an international footballing dynasty.
But in the searing heat of Brazilian summer, the wheels came off dramatically. Despite taking the lead through a Xabi Alonso penalty against the Netherlands in their opening match, the Dutch responded in style and gave Spain the kind of trouncing they simply hadn’t experienced in the years prior. The game finished 5-1, and it feels as though all Spain’s misfortunes in international tournaments since have stemmed from that one crushing defeat.
A subsequent defeat to Chile saw Spain bow out of that World Cup, and it seemed to knock the stuffing out of many of their players. Two years later, they crumbled against Italy in the last 16 of the European Championships, before the disappointment of going out to Russia in the 2018 World Cup.
Bouncing back
The task facing this Spanish side is to bounce back in style this summer. It’s hard to know whether the year-long delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic will benefit Spain or not, but it’s clear that another early exit would be catastrophic.
They’ve been placed in a relatively easy group, which also contains Sweden, Poland and Slovakia, so you’d expect them to avoid any slip-ups in the group stage. The true test will come in the blood and thunder of knockout football, and we’ll get an indication then of whether or not past failures still haunt this Spain team.
On paper, they have a squad capable of competing right the way through to the latter stages of the competition. While the team is certainly not quite as laden with stars as the sides that won those three successive major tournaments, the experience of players like Sergio Ramos and Sergio Busquets, who were present for those triumphs, could prove vital.
Winning the tournament would be a big ask, but if Spain can stop the rot and record a respectable finish, it’ll lay a solid platform for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
