STORY: Unbeaten Spain fails to convince Spaniards as Euro 2024 enters knockout stage
SHOOTING TIME: June 28, 2024
DATELINE: June 30, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:44
LOCATION: BARCELONA, Spain
CATEGORY: SPORTS

SHOTLIST:
1. SOUNDBITE 1 (Catalan): POL MONTERO, Barcelona resident
2. SOUNDBITE 2 (Spanish): ARIADNA MATAMOROS, Barcelona resident
3. SOUNDBITE 3 (Spanish): ALBA MARTINEZ, Barcelona resident
4. SOUNDBITE 4 (Spanish): ALVARO AVILES, Barcelona resident
5. SOUNDBITE 5 (Spanish): JOSE MARIA BALDOMA, Barcelona resident
6. SOUNDBITE 6 (Spanish): ALBA MARTINEZ, Barcelona resident
7. SOUNDBITE 7 (Spanish): ALVARO AVILES, Barcelona resident

STORYLINE:

Spain may have won all their matches so far at Euro 2024, but many Spaniards remain unconvinced about their national team's chances of going all the way.

This edition of the quadrennial European football tournament began on June 14 and is entering its knockout stage, when the 16 teams left in the competition will look to progress to the quarterfinals.

With Spain's hopes of winning their fourth Euros still very much alive, Xinhua took to the streets on Friday to ask locals who they thought might win the final in Berlin's Olympic Stadium on July 14.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Catalan): POL MONTERO, Barcelona resident
"I think Germany could do very well, England also has a good chance, but I think just about the best right now is Spain because they are undefeated."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Spanish): ARIADNA MATAMOROS, Barcelona resident
"I hope Spain wins because it's my country and I think they have very good players, but I don't think they will win, I think that Italy will win."

SOUNDBITE 3 (Spanish): ALBA MARTINEZ, Barcelona resident
"I want Spain to win because they're my team and I think that this year we have a good chance, but Italy, Germany and Austria also have possibilities."

SOUNDBITE 4 (Spanish): ALVARO AVILES, Barcelona resident
"I've lost a lot of enthusiasm for Spain. I don't know the players, and it's not the team it used to be. Also, I don't like the coach. If they win, that's fine, but I want Germany to win."

Germany is also unbeaten so far in the tournament, while teams like France, Belgium and England have failed to impress and have managed only one win each.

SOUNDBITE 5 (Spanish): JOSE MARIA BALDOMA, Barcelona resident
"I've seen all the teams play but none of them have quite convinced me like in other years. Spain seems to be doing a little better, even though I'm Spanish. But we'll have to see how things go from now on." 

Martinez agreed that some of the top national teams had so far failed to live up to expectations.

SOUNDBITE 6 (Spanish): ALBA MARTINEZ, Barcelona resident
"I must say that I expected more from France, England and Portugal, for instance. Portugal lost against Georgia, for example. I didn't expect that. I also expected a lot more from France."

Also, with Portugal and the Netherlands losing their final group matches to Georgia and Austria respectively, Euro 2024 is throwing up plenty of surprises.

SOUNDBITE 7 (Spanish): ALVARO AVILES, Barcelona resident
"There are always surprises. In the 2010 World Cup, Spain lost the first match against Switzerland. In the last World Cup in Qatar, Argentina lost the first match against Saudi Arabia. Then they were both champions. Football is like that, if football were predictable it wouldn't be fun."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Barcelona, Spain.
(XHTV)