Spain Euro 12: Power Ranking Biggest Threats to Dethrone Defending Champs

Spain is going to face some tough challenges to defend its European Championship. This team is clearly talented enough to pull that off. 

They have a squad that is not all that different than the one that won it in 2008, and they are the world's No. 1 team. Spain has the goods to be the first repeat winner in the event's history, but it certainly won't be easy. Here are the three biggest threats to defeat the Spanish. 

No. 1: Germany

Germany has come together to become an absolute force. It is currently No. 2 in the world rankings, and deservedly so. 

The Germans went a perfect 10-0 in their Euro qualifying run, and they did so with an impressive goal differential of plus-27. 

This German team is led by dynamic youngsters like Mesut Ozil, Thomas Muller and Sami Khedira. They are hungry and ready to claim some hardware, which they narrowly missed out on at the 2008 Euro Championships. 

No. 2: Netherlands

The Netherlands are finally turning their talent into results. They made the finals of the 2010 World Cup, and they are loaded for this championship. 

Players like Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Rafael van der Vaart and Dirk Kuyt will make sure this side stays attacking and keeps the pressure on the opposing defense. 

All of that said, they have not been overly impressive in their qualifying run for this tournament, but that could just be the calm before the storm for this talented and experienced group. 

No. 3: France

Currently ranked 16th in the world, France is the dark horse in this group. France has been a giant disappointment in recent major competitions, but it was not for a lack of talent. This has been a side marred by controversy and bad chemistry (see the player strike and early exit from the last World Cup).

The French appear to have turned that around. Gone is coach Raymond Domenech in favor of Laurent Blanc, and it is paying dividends. They have been much more unified and deadly in recent play. 

This team has run off 17-straight without a loss, which includes a statement victory over the powerful Germans. 

This team has found itself once again and is bursting with confidence. They cannot be counted out.