SPAIN begin the defence of their crown today and should start with three points.
Vicente del Bosque's men are a best 1-2 at the likes of Ladbrokes to sink the Czech Republic despite arriving in France with no proven international strikers.
The wily manager chose to leave out Fernando Torres and Diego Costa so the onus will be on Alvaro Morata to lead the line and be well supported by midfielders such as Nolito, Andres Iniesta, David Silva and Cesc Fabregas.
Morata made his mark in the Champions League this season and is 11-8 at bet365 to score and 4-1 to net first.
The claims of Sergio Ramos can't be ignored as he's hit the target in some big games and the defender is 9-1 to net.
The Czechs didn't keep a single clean sheet in qualifying and at the other end are unlikely to hurt the likes of Ramos, Juanfran, Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba.
David de Gea looks likely to keep his place after claiming his innocence over sex-scandal allegations but Iker Casillas is an able deputy if the Man United man is dumped.
So I'm on Spain to win at 1-2 with Ladbrokes and bet365 and while I'm tempted I'm not convinced enough to take them minus one at 7-5 with Paddy Power.
Spain to win to nil could be a better bet at 5-4 with McBookie while under 2.5 goals pays 5-6 at Stan James.
They won each of their last eight qualifiers without conceding and 18 of their last 20 competitive wins have come with clean sheets.
Bets to Consider
Morata to score first
Spain to win to nil
Under 2.5 goals
Resident football tipster at Scotland's most read newspaper, the Daily Record, for over 20 years and proud host of one the best betting communities on the web with daily betting tips.
But they lost to Georgia I think Spain are on the decline.
rj3, that was a friendly – means nothing.
Draw ht draw ft Spain Czech republic
Spain flopped at the last world cup losing 5-1 to Holland and 2-0 to Chile.
No strikers this time, Mr potato head like hodgson should have been sacked after that.
Their vaunted midfield aren’t getting any younger.
Lost to Slovakia in qualifiers.
Lost to a Georgia team last time that had been bashed up 5-1 v Romania 4 days earlier.
As far as this game goes they should win to nil as suggested by Mr f, 1 or 2 nil.
As far as the tournament goes, I can’t see them getting past the semi finals.
elvis parsley, Spain won’t worry about the striker situation. Have put faith in Morata and have goals from midfield and Aduriz to call if needed. They could have taken Torres and Costa but chose not to.
Really not convinced by Spain and feel Croatia could pip them to 1st place. Thought they played very well yesterday and had they took their chances should have won 4 or 5.
The tournament is due an upset and I really feel the Czechs could cause the Spanish a scare. Odds of 10/11 for a Czech goal really appeals. If you look at their games they do like to score as well as concede.
SPAIN VS CZECH REPUBLIC TIPS
SERGIO RAMOS TO SCORE A HEADER ANYTIME @ 17/1 (888sport)
DAVID SILVA TO SCORE ANYTIME FROM OUTSIDE THE BOX @ 20/1 (Skybet)
Good luck everyone
still fancy draw h/t on this 11/10
we will see. GL