These are the rivals already defined in the round of 16 8:02
(CNN Spanish) --
Spain, which managed to advance to the round of 16 as second in Group E and will face Morocco on Tuesday, arrived in Qatar as one of the favorites to win the World Cup.
This would be the crossroads that await you if you keep moving forward.
From Group E to the round of 16 against Morocco
La Roja qualified for the second phase of the World Cup with 4 points, two below the first team, Japan—which was left out of the competition this Monday after its defeat in the round of 16 against Croatia.
Neither Costa Rica nor Germany advanced from their Group E, in one of the many surprises that the first phase in Qatar gave.
Why are there so many surprising results in this World Cup in Qatar?
Now it is their turn to face Morocco, classified from Group F. If they win in the round of 16,
their opponent in the quarterfinals could be Portugal or Switzerland
, depending on which of the two prevails in the match scheduled for Wednesday, December 6.
The semifinal, to continue in the race after that match, would be played against
England or France
, which will be measured by the quarterfinals on Saturday, December 10.
These two teams, ranked four and five in the FIFA ranking prior to the championship, are among the favorites to win the World Cup.
But these possible crosses mean that they would not face two of the best positioned players until the final: Argentina and Brazil.
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Results of the World Cup in Qatar 2022: crosses of eighths, live quarters
Spain also came to Qatar as one of the favourites.
After the mess of 2018 with the arrival and dismissal of Julen Lopetegui and after Luis Enrique's forced absence due to a personal issue, the coach has achieved a new identity for La Roja with young players and an ideal tie (6 wins, a draw and a defeat).
Spain is seventh in the FIFA ranking.
In the Eurocup that was played in 2021 Spain was a semifinalist, eliminated by the eventual champion Italy, and in the League of Nations it is the leader of Group A2.
In 2021 they lost the final of the last edition of that League against France, but since then they have only lost one game (against Switzerland) in that tournament.
In Qatar, Spain thrashed Costa Rica, tied with Germany and lost to Japan.
It went from more to less and at the end of the group stage it left more doubts than certainties, but it is still one of the teams that has what to dominate with.
Álvaro Morata is one of the tournament's top scorers (behind Mbappé) and Pedri and Gavi are the stellar midfield duo.
Against whom could Spain play the final?
There are still definitions of the quarterfinals and semifinals to find out who would be Spain's opponent if they advanced to the last stage.
But we do know that there are only four possible rivals:
the Netherlands, Argentina, Croatia or Brazil.
The Netherlands and Argentina will play their quarterfinal match on Friday, December 9.
Leo Messi's team arrives having regained enthusiasm with three straight victories (against Australia in the round of 16 and against Mexico and Poland in the group stage) after the failed debut against Saudi Arabia.
That same day the quarterfinal match between Croatia and Brazil will be played.
The two that advance to the next stage will face each other in the semifinals —which enables a match between the albiceleste and the canarinha— and only then will it be known who reaches the most important match of the entire cup.
With information from Sebastián Jiménez Valencia of CNN en Español.
World Cup of Spain soccer team
