Spain Eye Historic Run: Blowing of Euro 2016 Opportunity Has Presented Another

They were 13 seconds that changed everything. For Spain. For Italy. For Germany. For France.

For everyone. 

At one end inside the Stade de Bordeaux, Aritz Aduriz had been played in by Sergio Busquets. There it was: the chance not only to settle this but to seize a colossal opportunity. But Aduriz's shot was blocked, and the Croatian sequence that immediately followed went pass, dribble, pass, shoot, goal. 

It was lethal and it was seismic. At 1-1, Spain, then-considered the tournament's outstanding team, had been staring at the capture of Euro 2016's Group D and a strikingly gentle run to the final. But at 2-1, everything was different: Croatia had stolen their path; the complexion of the draw had shifted entirely; Spain had given themselves a potential run of Italy, Germany and then France. 

That opportunity: blown.

And yet, in blowing it, Spain might have given themselves another. 

In the wake of that damaging defeat to Croatia, those inside the Spanish camp have spoken of recovery, correcting mistakes and of firm belief. Manager Vicente del Bosque admitted at his post-match press conference that "we are not on the path we wanted to be," but insisted the loss wasn't indicative of deeper issues: "It was just one slip of concentration at the end. I don't have any complaints about the players. We have time to analyse what the game against Italy means."

Juanfran conceded that a "small excess of confidence" had been the problem against Croatia, but looking ahead to the round-of-16 clash with the Italians, remarked: "Italy are probably also concerned because they have to face us."

Bruno Soriano said the same. 

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If there's a certain defiance within La Roja, it goes against the mood that surrounds them.

As tournament losses tend to do, their defeat in the final group game raised doubts and gave rise to questions. Had Pedro's comments disturbed harmony and provided a distraction? Is David de Gea's form being affected by the storm that engulfed him prior to the tournament? Do Spain have the necessary resilience for this now-daunting run?

Such questions may strike as alarmist so soon after a sparkling display against Turkey had established Spain as Euro 2016 favourites. But a certain pessimism has lingered around La Roja for two years since the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, and the opening victories over the Czech Republic and Turkey had kept it at bay rather than extinguished it.

One loss, then, has seen it all return, but that's where the opportunity lies: Spain can now channel that inner-defiance against it. This is a chance to do something special.

A daunting run could become a run for the ages.

On Monday in Paris, Del Bosque's men will kickstart that run against Italy, the country that holds such great significance for Spain. Eight years ago at Euro 2008, it was La Roja's penalty shootout victory over the Azzurri in the quarter-finals that was the birth of Spain's golden generation, liberating the country from past ghosts and supposed hexes, and propelling them to a historic international treble—one that was completed four years later at Euro 2012, when Spain romped to glory with a 4-0 victory in the final. 

Their opponents that night: Italy. 

So here we are again. Eight years on from the night that changed everything, the night that ended decades of Spanish pain against the Italians, La Roja are preparing to face them again. This time, Italy are far from fearsome, but once more there's a knowhow about them, and they're led by manager Antonio Conte, perhaps the standout boss at the tournament.

"Italy are always Italy, and that worries me," Gerard Pique told the media this week. 

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As such, Monday's clash in Paris is the latest opportunity for the Spanish to parade style as superior to pragmatism. When they blitzed Italy four years ago in Kiev, that's precisely what they did, winning an ideological battle with an arch rival that they're eager to win once more. 

Doing so would re-establish a flicker of supremacy for La Roja, who would then likely tackle Germany in the quarter-finals, the country they defeated to lift the title in 2008. The country that entered the current tournament as world champions; the country blessed with a similar depth of talent.

This, of course, is not the path Spain wanted, but the more you think about it, the more you feel there's a shot at something historic to be had here. Beating Italy would carry weight. Ditto for Germany. Ditto for then possibly France. 

Hosting Euro 2016, the French are attempting to lighten up the tournament, while concurrently striving to act as a symbol of national unity amid turbulent times. A storming French run would capture imagination, but perhaps the only thing that could rival it would be a dazzling fiesta of quintessential Spain through the heavyweight side of the draw; the Spain that enchants and delights, that's uplifting and graceful, that's led on the pitch by the impossible-not-to-love Andres Iniesta.

This is the opportunity Spain now have, and you could argue Euro 2016 needs them to take it. 

This after all is a tournament that's been troubled right from the beginning. Organisational and security issues have been compounded by horrifying fan violence, exacerbating the feeling of a continent being gripped by tension. Then came Brexit. 

All of that has made for a toxic background picture that the largely pedestrian and uninspiring football of this tournament has failed to temporarily black out.

But maybe Spain on their own could do that. 

In missing an opportunity to top their group, La Roja have built their own mountain at Euro 2016. But that now means the heights they could hit are potentially greater, too. A possible run that includes clashes with Italy, Germany and France could be remembered as one for the ages if they were to go on and win it.  

Particularly if they were to do it while lighting up the tournament in a way only they can. If they were able to give this tournament the injection of footballing verve and celebration it craves. 

Spain might have missed one opportunity, but now they have another.