Euro 2016 Preview - Group D: Spain

On to Group D now. Top seed in the group - the current holders - Spain:

Nickname: "La Furia Roja" ("The Red Fury")

Absurd FIFA ranking: 6th

Coach: Vicente del Bosque

Match Schedule: 

June 13 - Spain v. Czech Republic (Toulouse, 9am EST, ESPN)
June 17 - Spain v. Turkey (Nice, 3pm ESPN)
June 21 - Spain v. Croatia (Bordeaux, 3pm, ESPN)

Prospects: Despite a poor performance at Brasil 2014, where they crashed out in a Group of Death, Vicente del Bosque's side will come into France 2016 as holders and one of three or four sides that might be tipped to win the whole thing again. With four starters with over 100 caps for the side, they have bags of experience at the top level, which will be all important in the latter stages of the tournament. Del Bosque is still set up to play tippy tappy nonsense in midfield all day long, but the addition of Diego Costa up front gives them a more potent edge than in previous tournaments.

Key Player: Even at 32, Barcelona's Andres Iniesta still pulls all the strings for this Spanish side.

Youngster to Watch: When will Manchester United's superb David De Gea elbow Iker Casillas aside as Spain's #1?

Who Will Get the Goals: In this set up, Chelsea's wide man Pedro looks most likely.

Who Will Get the Cards: At 30, veteran stopper Sergio Ramos could get exposed.

Prediction: Beaten by Germany in a tense, hard-fought battle in the final.