Qatar 2022 | Know your favourites: Enrique’s Spain on the comeback trail

Qatar 2022, know your favourites: Spain

Having underperformed at the two previous Fifa World Cups, Spain have been on an upward trajectory in their rebuilding process under coach Luis Enrique over the past two years and that makes them potential title contenders at Qatar 2022.

After winning their first World Cup in 2010 in SA at a time when Spain’s tiki-taka soft-passing style had wowed the world and been almost invincible for more than half-a-decade, La Roja were mediocre in 2014 in Brazil as they failed to make it past the group stages. In 2018 in Russia they couldn’t go further than the last-16.

Built on club giants Real Madrid and especially Barcelona, La Roja played the world’s most exceptional international football in the 2010s, which saw them win the Euro 2008 two years before the World Cup in SA. They defended their continental title at Euro 2012.

The current Spanish team are not of the calibre of their 2010 generation, but they have played decent football in the build-up to the 2022 World Cup and have the look of an emerging force on the global stage again.

Enrique’s side made it to the last four of Euro 2020, where they took home the bronze medal. They also narrowly went down 2-1 to world champions France in the 2021 Uefa Nations League final and have also qualified for the next year’s semifinals of the 2022-23 tournament.

Spain have a team that has played together long enough to take it up a notch in Qatar, but it won’t be easy.

Enrique’s is a well-balanced team with experienced players such as skipper Sergio Busquets, Dani Carvajal, Aymeric Laporte, Pau Torres, Jordi Alba, Alvaro Morata, Rodri and exciting youngsters such as Ferran Torres, Pedri, Eric Garcia, and Gavi.

Spain are in Group E with Germany, Japan and Costa Rica. While this is not the group of death in Qatar, it is a tough group and Spain can expect a cracker of a match against Germany. Japan will also give them a run for their money. Spain are expected to top the group.

If Spain hit the right notes in Qatar they can reach the last four, and from there anything is possible.

Previous World Cup performance: Champions 2010; semifinals 1950;
quarterfinals 1934, 1986, 1994, 2002;
last-16 1990, 2006, 2018;
second group stage 1982; group stage 1962, 1966, 1978, 1998, 2014.

Key players: Unai Simon (goalkeeper, Athletic Bilbao) Ferran Torres (attacker, Barcelona), Sergio Busquets (midfielder, Barcelona), Pedri (midfielder, Barcelona),
Aymeric Laporte (defender, Manchester City).

Coach: Luis Enrique

Current ranking: 7

Group E: Spain, Germany, Japan, Costa Rica

Predicted finish in 2022: Third

* The 2022 Fifa World Cup kicks off on November 20 and the final is on December 18. TimesLIVE and TimesLIVE Premium will profile all eight groups, the tournament favourites, star players and five African teams over the coming weeks.