Euro 2012: Spain Stars Who Must Excel for La Roja to Defend European Title

Spain was able to cruise through Group C, earning seven of nine possible points to claim the top spot. Even though that finish is impressive, La Roja didn't destroy teams like they usually have in recent years, which means they will need to improve to win another title.

Let's take a look at a trio of players who will need to raise their level of play in the knockout rounds for Spain to earn its third straight major championship. La Roja previously won Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup to establish their global dominance.

Fernando Torres

Manager Vicente del Bosque made the right decision to insert Torres in the starting lineup after a disappointing offensive performance against Italy. Now, the Chelsea star must prove he deserves to keep his spot for the rest of the tournament.

He scored twice against Ireland in Spain's only blowout victory, but wasn't able to make much of an impact against Croatia, making things more tense than they should have been. His ability to finish will play a significant role in Spain's chances.

La Roja knew heading into the European Championships that their depth up front would be tested without David Villa. While Torres has more than enough talent to fill the void, it always comes down to a mental battle with him. If he wins it, Spain will be in great shape.

Sergio Busquets

On a team with so much talent, it's not hard to see why Busquets is often the forgotten man. As the team's main defensive midfielder, his contributions usually don't show up on the stat sheet, but he's still a key piece for La Roja.

Since the team will likely need to utilize a more aggressive strategy to generate offense, the onus will be on Busquets to keep things under control in the midfield. Most notably, he has to ensure the team isn't susceptible to counterattacks when players get caught up field.

Luckily, he's one of the best players on the planet at doing exactly that. And having played for Barcelona along with his international duty, he's no stranger to pressure. It's those experiences that should give Spain fans confidence he'll step up.

Iker Casillas

For all the talk about offense when Spain plays, everything always seems to come back to Casillas. The veteran goalkeeper has accumulated more than 130 appearances for La Roja and continues to play at an elite level.

As mentioned for Busquets, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Spain start making a great effort to create scoring chances, which will ultimately give opponents more chances. That's where Casillas will have to come into play.

He'll need to make a couple of key stops every game to make sure Spain survives. He's done it so many times in the past that people don't even think twice anymore, but that's life as a keeper. It's time for Casillas to lead the title charge again.