Albiol going well in Spanish sweepstake

Spain reserve centre-back Raul Albiol is unlikely to spend much time on the pitch at Euro 2012 but he is in with a good shout of winning another competition, the players' tournament sweepstake or “porra”.

Spain reserve centre-back Raul Albiol is unlikely to spend much time on the pitch at Euro 2012 but he is in with a good shout of winning another competition, the players' tournament sweepstake or “porra”.

Spanish-midfielder-Cesc-Fabregas-scores-against-Italian-goalkeeper-Gianluigi-Buffon-during-the-Euro-2012-championships-football-match-Spain-vs-Italy-at-the-Gdansk-Arena-AFP-Pierre-Philippe-Marcou

The squad members predicted all the results at the tournament in Poland and Ukraine, including the winners, before it kicked off and Albiol said he was lying third after two rounds of matches behind Cesc Fabregas and David Silva. “It’s a sweepstake that we have in the team to pass the time here and make it a bit more exciting,” said Albiol ahead of the holders’ Group C decider against the Croats on Monday. “I’m currently third but of course the important thing is that we beat Croatia, top the group and get to the final and become champions of Europe.”

Italy would be knocked out if the other game is a scoring draw of two goals each or more. Albiol said he had forecast a

1-0 win for Spain which would take them through as group winners. "A 2-2 draw is not one of the predictions," added Albiol.