Defence is Spain's biggest strength, but Alvaro Morata holds key to glory

Never trust a pre-tournament friendly as a form guide to how a team might do once the real thing starts.

Back in 2008 I was at Spain’s last friendly before they travelled to Austria for the European Championship. The game was so poor there were whistles for the home side in the first half and I was ‘persuaded’ by a colleague to head to the bar at the break and, shall we say, not hurry back for the start of the second half.

It was measure of just how bad the first 45 minutes had been that Spain’s mascot, cheerleader and all-round super-fan Manolo el del Bombo (Manuel with the drum) had exactly the same idea.

Decked out in red and yellow, wearing his Spain No. 12 shirt, and still with his drum resting at his feet, he was propping up the other end of the bar. And that is where he stayed as the players came back out for the second period, before a sense of duty took hold and he eventually abandoned his Coca-Cola and went back out to cheer the team on. They needed him because they were still being whistled until minute 78 when Xavi scored the only goal of the game against the USA.

Sergio Ramos, Cesc Fabregas and David Silva were all in the starting XI that night and a month later they would all be on the open top bus as it drove through the streets of Madrid with close to million people celebrating Spain’s first international trophy in over forty years.

Those three were all back in Madrid this week as Georgia, ranked one place above Tanzania in FIFA’s rankings, beat them 1-0 in the last match before Monday’s Group D opener against Czech Republic.

This time there were no whistles. You have to be a special kind of philistine to jeer a team that has won three of the last four major international tournaments. But there were post-match inquests over why Spain had been unable to beat a team whose last game had ended in a 5-1 defeat to Romania.

Vicente Del Bosque had picked a side based on who needed a run-out and who needed a rest. In a competition environment Alvaro Morata, Andres Iniesta and David Silva would all have started the game.

“It was an accident,” said Gerard Pique. “But it also showed that perhaps there are teams such as Germany and France who are better than us.” Spain are not the favourites despite having won the last two Euros. But that will only work in their favour as they attempt to win their third European Championship in a row under the radar in France.

They don’t have a superstar cover boy to compete with Paul Pogba. Iniesta is their star player but when he appeared in a series of two meter-high posters on the windows of a Spanish high-street bank chain this month it looked as if, to cut costs, they had used one of their branch managers for the publicity.

You needed a second glance to remember it was the man who has two European Championships, three European Cups and one World Cup medal in his safety deposit box. Not since ‘Spot the Cat’ in Hong Kong Phooey has there been such a low-profile hero.

Iniesta aside all Spain’s best players are defenders. There is no better centre-back pairing in Europe than Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique; David de Gea is as good as any goalkeeper on the continent; Jordi Alba is Europe’s best left; Sergio Busquets its best holding midfielder; and Juanfran is as good as any right-back at this tournament. Spain conceded just one goal when they won the Euros four years ago. Their strength at the back will be the foundation again this time.

That ought to take them to the last four and maybe then they will need something more. Iniesta and Silva – both veterans of the 2008 win when the country's golden era began – may hold the key but perhaps it will be Morata who really needs to step forward.

He belongs to Juventus until July 15 when he will either a) be bought back by Real Madrid for €32m (£25m) as per the buy-back clause inserted into his contract two seasons ago, b) be allowed to stay in Turin as part of the deal that makes Pogba Real Madrid’s next Galatico, or c) be bought back by Madrid but then sold on to the Premier League where Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea are all interested in signing him.

That’s a lot to be thinking about going into a tournament – and Roy Hodgson is worried that Jamie Vardy might be distracted – but if he can use it as a further boost to his confidence and deliver the kind of tournament performance he gave in 2013 when he top scored to win the Golden Boot as Spain's Under-21s beat Italy in the final, then La Roja will come away with another trophy. And if they do, no-one will remember a 1-0 loss to Georgia on the eve of the finals.