Spain

Spain, which tied 1-1 on Thursday in Italy in a match where their game was disappointing, hopes to improve their image in the friendly against Romania on Sunday at 1:45 p.m. (Peruvian time) in Cluj. The reigning European champions aim to face the final stretch towards Euro 2016 with more confidence.

The Spanish selection

The Spanish and Romanian teams are already finalizing their preparations for the major continental event in France, which is less than three months away. Spain hopes to win a third consecutive European title, after winning in 2008 and 2012.

The Romanian selection

The Romanian selection, another one of the 24 teams participating in the European Championship, is now the opponent for this new test.

Sergio Ramos, the central defender, will not be able to be in Cluj. He left the concentration of the national team on Friday due to lower back pain that had already prevented him from playing the second half of the friendly match against Italy in Udine on Thursday. Earlier in the week, Sergio Busquets had left the Spanish concentration just a day after joining, precautionary against his finger fracture on his right hand.

Despite these two setbacks, the Spanish team hopes to win this match.

"It will be an intense clash, in which both teams will try to impose our style of play. We both want to win it. Revalidating the European title with the national team is difficult. What this team has achieved to date is history, no one had achieved it", said defender César Azpilicueta in an interview with the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) television.

The Spanish team's coach

Vicente Del Bosque, the coach of the Spanish team, will continue with his tests in the final test before deciding his selected squad for the European Championship.

In Thursday's match, Spain's goal was scored by veteran Aritz Aduriz, who played his second match as an international. Paco Alcácer will therefore try to prove himself against the tough competition from Aduriz, who despite his 35 years is in one of the best moments of his career.

- Squad rotation -

Del Bosque could almost completely renew the squad compared to the one that played on Thursday.

In goal, Iker Casillas would start and in the second half Sergio Rico could come into play. David De Gea played against the Italians.

Spain, which failed miserably in the 2014 World Cup, will have a tough group in the Eurocopa, with Czech Republic, Turkey, and Croatia, three opponents capable of causing more than one surprise.

The Romanians, on the other hand, will start in Group A of the continental tournament, against the host country France, Switzerland, and Albania. On Thursday, Romania beat Lithuania 1-0 in a friendly match.

The match on Sunday will be played at the Cluj stadium, after the celebration of the match was in doubt for a while.

Initially it was supposed to be played in Bucharest, but the firefighters of the Romanian capital had refused to authorize the playing of football matches at the National Stadium, after a fire in a nightclub at the end of October that killed about sixty people. The firefighters questioned the safety of the retractable roof, "made of materials not approved in Romania," so the venue had to be changed to Cluj.

There will be an enhanced security presence there, after the bombings on Tuesday in Brussels, which killed at least 31 people and injured 300.

- Probable Lineups:

Romania: Tatarusanu - Filip, Chiriches, Sapunaru, Hoban - Torje, Stancu, Pintili - Stanciu, Andone.

Coach: Anghel Iordanescu

Spain: Casillas - Mario Gaspar, Bartra, Piqué, Jordi Alba - Koke, Sergi Roberto, Isco, Nolito - Silva, Alcácer.

Coach: Vicente Del Bosque

(AFP)