AS with the obligatory fireman in the non league team that has reached the FA Cup third round, no major football tournament today is complete without the "Group of Death". And Group B, containing Spain, Bulgaria, France and Romania fulfils that role this time around. All four teams are capable of beating each other and, on their day, capable of beating anyone.
The two alleged outsiders, Romania and Bulgaria, proved in America two years ago when Romania swept past Colombia and Argentina and Bulgaria knocked out Germany before losing to Italy in the semi final that they are nobody's fools. France and Spain, meanwhile, are many people's fancies.
The former are on a 22 game unbeaten run, while Spain are the seeded team in the group owing to their impressive qualifying record of eight wins and two draws. That has given them the perceived advantage of playing all three games at Elland Road, visited first by Bulgaria tomorrow.
"Beating Bulgaria is the foundation stone," said Javier Clemente, the Spanish manager particularly as his team play France next. Failure to reach the quarter finals would leave Clemente, who has expressed his admiration for "English virtues" in football, facing criticism of Fleet Street proportions.
Already unpopular because he is a Basque, Clemente has been accused of exchanging traditional Spanish skill for English work rate. The exclusion of the two rising stars of domestic football, Ivan De La Pena and Raul Gonzalez, has created further tension.
Clemente's starting line up looks likely to have a Basque spine of Zubizarreta in goal, Alkorta in defence and Guerrero, singled out by Kevin Keegan as the one to watch, the creative midfield attacker. Of Athletico Madrid's double winning side, only Juan Lopez, the left back, and possibly Kiko, up front, may start.
Actually, Luboslav Penev will make it three Athletico players starting, but he is Bulgarian and nephew of the coach, Dimitar. He will partner Stoichkov, another the Spanish know all about, with World Cup hero Lechkov behind, in a side whose youngest player is likely to be Kremenliev at 26. Ensuring mirth in goal will be Reading's Mihailov. Still, coach Penev is confident and thinks either Bulgaria or Germany will win the tournament outright. He might be right about one of them.
