One bone, Germany, and two inferior rivals, Japan and the winner of the playoff between New Zealand and Costa Rica, will be Spain's rivals in the World Cup in Qatar.
The appointment will begin on November 21 with the meeting between the host team and Ecuador and will end on December 18.
In an act that showed the opulence of the organizing country with the luxurious decoration of the Doha Conference Center, the draw was benevolent with the selection of Luis Enrique.
Spain will debut on November 23 against New Zealand or Costa Rica, will face Germany on the 27th of the same month and will end the group stage on December 1 against Japan.
Not reaching one of the first two places would be a historic setback.
The Spanish coach admitted that the draw had given him an affordable group stage and a more complex path afterwards.
“An easier draw may surprise you later.
Who knows how we will all get there.
It's time to enjoy it and be optimistic.
Germany is a power.
has a coach
top
, has improved and changed.
But we are Spain, also a power, and we are seventh in the FIFA ranking”, said the coach from Gijón.
“There is no fear of Germany, it is the difficulty of having a powerful rival in front of you.
But that is not going to make us lose hope.
We will try to play good football and win”, said José Francisco Molina, sports director of the federation.
The dispute for the first place with Germany will be the great battle of the Red team to try to avoid Belgium, favorite of group E, ahead of Croatia, Morocco and Canada in the round of 16.
Being first in the group could also mean not facing France until the final if the reigning champions end up leading theirs as well.
The heraldry of the Germans will arrive accompanied by the attractive football proposed by their coach, Hansi Flick.
The same coach who crowned Bayern Munich in the final eight of the Champions League held in Lisbon in 2020, with the historic 8-2 win over Barcelona in the quarterfinals.
The duel between the Spanish and the Germans is undoubtedly the star match of the first phase.
The attractive and daring styles of both technicians promise an interesting duel.
faith in flick
Flick has opted for the Bayern block (Neuer, Kimmich, Goretzka, Süle, Gnabry Müller and Sané) and for the same drawing 4-2-3-1.
The lack of a proven goalscorer is an inherited problem that already caused a headache for his predecessor, Joachim Löw.
Flick has tried to work it out with Kai Havertz (Chelsea).
The negative dynamics in which Germany entered in the last years of Löw, eliminated in the first phase in the World Cup in Russia and in the round of 16 in the last European Championship, generated fed up among the German internationals and the fans.
Under Flick's leadership, Germany feels like a candidate again.
Flick couldn't help but grimace when his compatriot Lothar Matthäus paired up the Germans and Spaniards.
When the group was finally set up, he seemed more satisfied: “I'm happy.
Brazil is one of the strongest teams, France is one group ahead of us.
It is how it is.
We are satisfied and accept it with pleasure.
Everything depends on us.
An easy group cannot touch you”, explained the German coach.
The history of the clashes between Spain and Germany in the World Cup have been four.
In 1966, in England, the Germans prevailed (2-1) in the group stage in which the Spanish team was eliminated.
The second confrontation took place in the 1982 World Cup in Spain and the Germans won again (2-1) in the quarterfinals, which also meant the elimination of Spain.
In 1994, in the United States, the team led by Javier Clemente started a tie (1-1) in the group stage.
The last confrontation in a World Cup was in the semifinals of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Spain reached its first World Cup final with Puyol's historic header after a corner kick executed by Xavi.
“We have negative memories of Spain, but something like South Africa doesn't happen to us twice.
There is no history of Spain against Japan in a World Cup.
The Japanese team, led by Hajime Moriyasu, has achieved its seventh consecutive qualification for a World Cup.
Center back Tomiyasu (Arsenal) and Take Kubo are two of his stars, although the madridista, on loan at Mallorca, has failed to secure a starting position.
Japan maintains the high rhythm of the game that it tries to print to annoy its rivals.
Keylor Navas's Costa Rica are favorites to win the playoff against New Zealand, a very physical team that depends on their striker Chris Woods (Newcastle), a tank in the air.
Both Japan and Costa Rica or New Zealand are the classic teams that Spain can struggle against if they do not manage to open the scoring soon.
If Spain manages to get through the first phase and the round of 16, always depending on whether they are first or second in their group, their possible rivals would be Brazil, Uruguay or Portugal.
In the semifinals, if he avoids France for finishing the first two of his group, the Netherlands, Argentina and Senegal could be lucky.
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