On the way to the Hamburg Philharmonic, on the banks of the Elbe River, the Spanish expedition had to pass under a ladder, come across the occasional black cat and break a mirror. It is impossible to have worse luck than what Spain had this Saturday in the draw for the next Euro Cup. Their rivals will be Italy, the current champion; Croatia, surely the European team that has competed best in the last five years; and Albania, a team in a Cinderella costume that hides countless dangers in what will be their second participation in a final phase. –he already paid for the hazing in 2016–.
If the drums were full of poison, Spain took the brunt of a ceremony that began with a concert – things of modern football – and that with legends like Buffon, Sneijder or Silva acting in innocent hands, distributed the fate in a very different way. “It is a very complicated group that will require us to apply ourselves at the highest level. Croatia and Italy are two great teams but let no one forget Albania, which was first in its group,” warned Luis de la Fuente after the draw, trying to smile at the misfortune.
Spain will have its debut against Croatia on June 15 at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. It will be a duel marked by high-caliber precedents. Both met in the last final of the Nations League last June, with the red team winning on penalties. But in the last Euro Cup both also starred in a vibrant match in the quarterfinals and only after an extra time did the national team finish sealing qualification at the Parken Stadion in Copenhagen.
Spain's second rival will be Italy, the defending champion, and the team against which it has faced the most times in its history (40). Both will face each other on June 20 at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen and their last confrontation also took place in the last Nations, with an agonizing Spanish victory in the semifinals thanks to a goal from Joselu in the 88th minute.
The last wall of the red in the first phase will be Albania, on June 24 in Düsseldorf. Now led by former Barça player Sylvinho, they have lost in their seven official matches with Spain, in which they have only been able to score two goals. “I have to work a lot these next six months,” the Brazilian joked in Hamburg. Despite the precedents, in the Spanish delegation no one trusts the Albanians, capable of winning their qualifying group, a milestone that neither Croatia nor Italy achieved.
The only thing that was pre-established before the draw is that the final will be played on July 14 in Berlin and that Germany, the host, would be included in group A and would open the tournament on June 14 at the Allianz Arena in Munich. It was only necessary to reveal the rival, which will be none other than Scotland. Note that the group champions from Germany (A) and Spain (B) could meet in the quarterfinals.
Of the rest of the groups, the fortune of Belgium, another of the seeds, stands out, which fell in group E along with Slovakia, Romania and one of the three winners of the play-off. The great favorite, France, will face more curves. The world runner-up will have to face the Netherlands, Austria and another play-off winner, which could be Lewandowski's Poland. Luck, clearly, was by neighborhood.
