Will Vicent del Bosque stick or twist at Euro 2016?

Fresh off the back of a humiliating World Cup exit, more than a few began to worry when Spain crashed to defeat against Slovakia last October. This was their first qualifying defeat since October 2006 and the decision to continue with Vicent del Bosque began to be questioned more than ever. He responded well to the setback and went on to win the next 8 games in a group that, as expected, provided very little competition to La Roja. In fact, they haven’t conceded another goal since the shock defeat to Slovakia while scoring a respectable 17 themselves.

As the dust settles on a successful qualifying campaign attention now turns to who will get the golden ticket to France and who won’t. There were no Barcelona players in the starting XI against Ukraine and the influence of the main two on the squad selections is waning although it does allow people such as Nacho and Bartra to rack up caps when, if they played for a Real Sociedad or Deportivo, they couldn’t be anywhere near the squad. Here are some of the key areas del Bosque will need to make big decisions on:

Goalkeeper

David De Gea probably thought it would be the year he finally established himself as Spain’s number 1 but has only started 3 of the 10 qualifying games, despite being in great form for both club and country when called upon. Iker Casillas has retained the armband in the 7 games he was picked, making it almost inevitable he’ll be first choice in France. I think it’s worth pointing out that Casillas hasn’t played badly himself but with an eye on the future as well, you can’t argue that De Gea has surpassed him.

The ray of hope for De Gea is that del Bosque has cast aside another La Roja legend in David Villa, who also played a key part in qualifying for a major tournament but found himself very much second choice to Diego Costa at the main event. My gut instinct says del Bosque has a much closer relationship with Casillas and won’t drop him, regardless of how De Gea performs until the summer.

Defence

Villarreal’s Mario Gaspar played – and scored – in the final qualifying match against the Ukraine but will find it hard to get on the plane for France. Juanfran is the established choice at right back for del Bosque and his backup appears to be Carvajal. In saying that, if Carvajal doesn’t start getting more minutes for Real Madrid then I could see Chelsea’s Azpilicueta taking his place. Cesar could cover both the left and right back slots and as we all know, versatility is key in tournament football.

Unless injury strikes the centre back pairing for Spain in France will be Pique and Ramos. It’s one of the few areas in the team that no one will complain about, although there can be debate as to who their backup options will be. Nacho, Bartra and San Jose (another defensive midfielder from Athletic Club that is asked to play at centre back for Spain) are some way behind the main two in terms of quality and experience. I’d personally like to see at least one more established centre back in the squad behind the main two, such as Iñigo Martinez, but that appears unlikely at the present time.

Jordi Alba will definitely lineup at left back. He hasn’t put a foot wrong and with del Bosque preferring a narrow forward line a lot of the work down the wing comes from the fullbacks and their ability to bomb forward. Alba’s main competition appears to be from Bernat but he doesn’t get forward as well as the Barcelona man. I’d rather see Valencia’s Gaya as reserve to Alba as their style of play is almost identical, but he’s likely to remain with the U21 side.

Midfield

It’s hard to find anyone who’ll agree on the best midfield three available to Spain at the moment. Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta will certainly take up 2 of the available 3 slots in midfield (attacking midfielders and wingers will go in the next section) so that leaves one place up for grabs.

Cesc Fabregas has been a personal favourite of del Bosque for a while now and despite performing okay for the national side his club form is nothing short of disastrous. He’s a shoo-in to go to France though. Koke was most people’s choice to fill in alongside the two Barcelona men but he hasn’t started this season particularly well himself so a starting spot is far from assured. Thiago Alcantara, providing he doesn’t suffer any more injury setbacks, could be a surprise inclusion for Spain’s opening game in France. Not forgetting Santi Cazorla who has played a key part in qualifying – arguably the safer bet to get the nod in midfield. Isco needs regular football at club level to get into the first XI but could make the squad, as should Juan Mata.

Forward line

All signs point to del Bosque preferring two, more naturally central players behind the lone striker as opposed to wingers. David Silva has always been someone the coach picked, so you’d expect he would occupy one of the slots behind the main striker (more on that later). Pedro is another trusted servant, but he hasn’t performed at the expected level for Spain in a long while now but he’ll certainly make the plane to France.

The main alternative at the moment is Nolito. The Celta wide man fulfils a similar role to that of Pedro but is crucially in the form of his life. It shouldn’t matter but if Nolito did join Barcelona in the winter transfer window I think he’d be a nailed on starter for Spain. Although you’d need to factor in playing time, as could you see Nolito shifting Neymar, Suarez or Messi out of the side?

There’s also a case for moving Iniesta further forward and having Silva & him behind the striker.

Speaking of the striker, that’s another position which is far from resolved. After unceremoniously dumping David Villa for Diego Costa, it just hasn’t quite worked for Spain upfront. Costa has played 9 times for Spain, racking up 658 minutes on the pitch but has only scored one goal. He’s a poor fit for the system and the situation surrounding his nationality meant he had to play regardless, which hasn’t benefited either him or the side. Paco Alcacer is the polar opposite of Costa and has seemingly fit into the side without a fuss and scored goals from the get-go. Alvaro Morata could have a say in matters but at present, Paco simply has to be first choice. The big friendlies before the tournament itself will present him the chance to cement his place in the XI.

The jury is still out on Vicent del Bosque for me despite a routine qualifying campaign. Since September of last year Spain have lost to France, Germany and the Netherlands in friendly matches while scraping past Costa Rica. Spain are most certainly in with a shout of winning Euro 2016 as the tournament is wide open but I’d like to see del Bosque take one or two more risks.

The team I expect del Bosque will start with in France:

Casillas, Juanfran, Ramos, Pique, Alba; Busquets, Iniesta, Cazorla; Pedro, Silva; Morata.

The team I hope he picks:

De Gea, Juanfran, Ramos, Pique, Alba; Busquets, Iniesta, Thiago; Nolito, Silva; Alcacer.