Del Bosque eyes Germany-Spain final

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque wants his team to face Germany in the final of UEFA EURO 2012 after today's draw left open the possibility of a repeat of the teams' meeting in Vienna in 2008. The side then coached by Luis Aragones beat Germany thanks to a solitary Fernando Torres goal to win the title, and Del Bosque's men then beat Germany 1-0 in the semi-finals of last year's FIFA World Cup™. If Spain finish top of Group C, and Germany win Group B, then the pair will only be able to come up against each other in the 1 July final in Kiev, something that Del Bosque admits would be a mouth-watering prospect. "That is something that would be great and I hope it does happen -- it would be a fantastic final," Del Bosque told Cuatro television after the draw. "Group B looks like the strongest, but the important thing is that this is going to be a very competitive European Championship. It would be great to see a Spain-Germany final, but we want to enjoy ourselves above all else." Spain were drawn alongside Italy -- who they beat on penalties in the EURO 2008 quarter-finals -- as well as Croatia and the Republic of Ireland in Group C, and will play their first-phase games in Poland. They will meet Italy in their opening match in Gdansk on 10 June, but Del Bosque admitted to being satisfied with the draw. "It will be difficult. There are 16 strong sides in the competition, but we wanted to avoid Germany and we wanted to play in Poland," he said. "We will play a traditionally strong side in Italy, and then two teams who came through the play-offs to reach the finals," he added. "We will be ready. We have to think about ourselves first and foremost and prepare as well as possible."