AFP LONDON

SPAIN will begin as hot favourite to complete an unprecedented treble next month when the European Championship ventures into new territory in Poland and Ukraine.

Winner of Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup, Spain will become the first footballing nation to complete a hat-trick of major championships if Vicente del Bosque’s side retains its crown.

No side has ever retained the European championship, underscoring the concentrated competitiveness of the 16- team tournament which many purists regard as superior in quality to the 32-team World Cup.

However Spain retains the nucleus of a side which has carried all before it on its march to World and European titles, easing their way through its qualifying group with a 100 percent record. Del Bosque has warned his side that they cannot afford to ease up, with the failure of both Real Madrid and Barcelona to reach this month’s Champions League final serving as a timely reminded against the perils of complacency.

“It’s important that we are not thinking about the last Euro and the World Cup because it is important to have excitement for a new championship like the Euros,” he said.

“We cannot allow ourselves to think that we are the best because if we do that would be the first step to failure.” Spain kick off their campaign against old rivals Italy in the Polish city of Gdansk on June 10, and will be expected to qualify comfortably from a group which also contains Croatia and the Republic of Ireland.

Meanwhile Germany, the side viewed by many as the most potent threat to Spanish hopes of retaining the title, will get their championship under way on June 9, when they face Portugal in the Ukrainian city of Lviv.

Germany, beaten by Spain in the 2008 final before losing out again to del Bosque’s side in the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup, face a demanding Group B, where their other opponents are the Netherlands, Denmark and Portugal. However the strength of the German challenge is reflected by their ability to call on several members of the Bayern Munich side due to face Chelsea in the Champions League final on May 19, notably goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, defender Philipp Lahm, midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and striker Mario Gomez.

With the likes of Real Madrid duo Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira also available, few would bet against a German side which was the only other side to qualify with a perfect record, notching 10 wins out of 10.