Euro 2012: How safe are giants Spain and Italy among Rep. of Ireland and Croatia?

Topics: Spain, Italy, Croatia, Ireland, Euro 2012

While European champions Spain should breeze into the quarter-finals, Italy's chances of doing the same could be significantly more difficult.

European champions Spain set out to defend their title

High-flying Spain will come into Euro 2012 looking to become the first team in history to ever retain their title, and at present they appear to be a good bet to achieve this. Since winning the competition four years ago, La Furia Roja went on to lift the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and will rate their chances of adding to their trophy cabinet in Poland-Ukraine.

The Iberian nation count with a relatively similar squad as to the one which beat the Netherlands with a last-gasp strike from key midfielder Andres Iniesta to win the World Cup, and have demonstrated that they continue to be a force to be reckoned with, with a number of positive results leading up to Euro 2012.

In preparation for the competition, Spain got the better of Serbia, South Korea and China, and although they did not match it with the best of opponents, they dominated all three encounters pretty much from the beginning right until the end. In these games Vicente del Bosque's side demonstrated their trademark possession-based soccer, attacking flair, firm backline and their tendency to move to the attack at every given opportunity.

But what are Spain's chances of retaining their title? The Spaniards are the odds on favourites to win back-to-back titles, especially due to their star-studded squad, big-game experience and team unity, but even though these are important factors, the fact that the national team haven't modified their system for a while now, could lead to their downfall.

Each and every team in the competition will be hoping to bring them down, and the fact that Spain's almost perfect playing system has been studied by their rivals, means that most teams will be very familiar with the way that they confront matches. Group C opponents Italy, Croatia and Ireland will definitely have done their homework, and it will be up to Spain to reach a new standard which can't be matched by other teams. Having said this, Spain used extremely effective tactics to lift the World Cup, and once again will come into another major international competition as the team to beat.

Despite problems on and off the field, Italy are the favourites to join Spain in the quarter-finals

Since inheriting Marcello Lippi's Italy team following their disastrous 2010 World Cup campaign, where they bowed out at the first hurdle, Cesare Prandelli has molded together a decent side, but more importantly a side which appears to have restored some of their pride after failing to defend their World Cup title. Italy are by no means one of the strongest sides in the world at present, and count with few consistent stars, but under Prandelli have undergone a gradual rebuilding process which saw the Azzurri qualify for Euro 2012 without suffering a single defeat.

It seemed that Italy were back on track by the hand of Prandelli, but since then the 1968 European champions have encountered a number of problems, as not only have they been hit with the latest match-fixing scandal, but they have also struggled for form, with home defeats against the likes of Uruguay, the United States and more recently a devastating 3-0 loss to Russia in Zurich in their final warm-up game last week. If Prandelli's side defend like they did against the Russians in Euro 2012 not only could they kiss goodbye to their chances of winning the competition for the second time, but also to their chances of progressing to the quarter-finals.

Italy will lock horns with world and European champions Spain in their opening group game, and it is necessary for them to at least pick up a point in the game, because a defeat could prove fatal, considering that two emerging nations follow, in Croatia and Ireland. But despite their extensive list of problems, the Italians are expected to join Spain in the last eight of the competition.

Group C teams previous UEFA Euro record

Spain: 8 appearances; 1964 (champions), 1980 (group stage), 1984 (second), 1988 (group stage), 1966 (quarter-finals), 2000 (quarter-finals), 2004 (group stage), 2008 (champions)

Italy: 7 appearances; 1968 (champions), 1980 (fourth), 1988 (semi-finals), 1966 (group stage), 2000 (second), 2004 (group stage), 2008 (quarter-finals)

Croatia: 3 appearances; 1996 (quarter-finals), 2004 (group stage), 2008 (quarter-finals)

Rep. of Ireland: 1 appearance; 1988 (group stage)