World Cup 2022 team guides part 20: Spain
This article is part of the Guardian’s World Cup 2022 Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 32 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from two countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 20 November.
The plan
If there are two non-negotiables with Luis Enrique’s Spain it is the style he plays with and the system, a 4-3-3. Players may come and go but those are constants. The coach does not pick the 11 best players at his disposal or the strikers who score the most goals. The players are selected on their ability to work together to execute the gameplan. “We go for the win from the first minute without caring too much about our opponents,” he has said. “We do not want to play deep, we always want to be in our opponents’ half and take risks. In defence we want to take the ball off our opponents as quickly as possible. When I am looking for players for the national team I pick the ones [who] are best at interpreting our tactics.”
The approach has generally worked well, taking Spain to the Euro 2020 semi-finals, where they lost on penalties to eventual winners Italy. They were largely untroubled in their World Cup qualifying group despite losing to Sweden away and topped their Nations League group (although they suffered a surprise 2-1 home defeat against Switzerland).
Quick Guide
Spain group fixtures
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This Spain side has been created to put pressure on their opponents while playing out at speed from the back, and that includes the goalkeeper. “It is nothing to be afraid of,” the goalkeeper Unai Simón told El País when asked about Spain’s style during Euro 2020. “If there are fast strikers such as [Alexander] Isak and [Kylian] Mbappé then you run the risk of getting caught but we gain far more from this system than our opponents do. Whatever style of football you play you risk the opponents scoring.”
Potential problems standing in Spain’s way of winning the tournament, as they did in 2010, are the high defensive line that means opponents always create chances and the absence of a consistent goalscorer.
The coach
Luis Enrique enters this World Cup hoping to win the whole thing. He was appointed Spain manager in 2018 after a chaotic World Cup but stood down for four months for personal reasons. On his return he said he would no longer work with his former assistant Robert Moreno, whom he accused of being disloyal. Having started his coaching career with Barcelona B Luis Enrique had spells at Roma and Celta Vigo before taking over Barça’s first team in 2014, winning the treble (La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League) the following year. “He wants to see aggression in our play,” says Spain stalwart César Azpilicueta.
Star player
It is difficult to find a standout player in this squad, partly because that is how Luis Enrique wants it. For him it is all about the collective and the team is the star. Ansu Fati, the young Barcelona forward, could have staked a claim but he has been hit by so many injuries. Pedri, followed by Gavi, are the best options, their youth representing something fresh and exciting. Pedri is still only 19 – he turns 20 during the World Cup – but has almost 100 appearances for Barcelona. “If we’re talking pure talent, he’s the best in the world,” says his club manager, Xavi.
Spain midfielder Pedri is one of the most exciting young talents going to the World Cup. Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty Images
Unsung hero
He has been here a long time now but when it comes to the role of being a “secondary hero” there is no one else in La Roja who challenges Sergio Busquets. The job he does in midfield is still crucial to Luis Enrique’s side. When Spain won the World Cup in 2010 and the Euros two years later Iker Casillas, Xavi, Andrés Iniesta and David Villa took the plaudits but it is doubtful they would have tasted success without the holding midfielder. Before Euro 2020, when Busquets contracted Covid, Luis Enrique refused to call up a replacement, simply saying: “It’s not that I want to wait for Busi; it’s that I am going to wait for Busi. As soon as he has recovered, he will be in the list, for sure.”
Probable lineup
Qatar stance
Spain are fully aware of the human rights issues in Qatar and the situation for migrant workers in the country. The president of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, said recently that he had been in negotiations with Fifa about whether La Roja players could wear an armband with a human rights message on it. “We are in talks with Fifa because we want an armband covering all aspects of equality – race, sexual orientation, children’s rights – and hopefully we can get there. If we don’t we have to look at other ways, like including rainbow colours each day at training.”
The national anthem
The Royal March – Marcha Real – is one of only a few national anthems in the world with no official lyrics attached to it. It has had lyrics in the past and during the 2010s there were a few competitions held to find new words for it but in the end the winning entry was so badly criticised that it was pulled a few days after being announced. Spanish fans add a bit of atmosphere by shouting “lo, lo, lo, lo, lo” during it.
All-time cult hero
If we go back a long time it is fair to say that Telmo Zarra qualifies for this section, having scored a famous goal that took Spain past England and into the final round of the 1950 World Cup. Fast forward a few decades and José Antonio Camacho would be another good shout but there is only one player who has won the World Cup for Spain and that is Andrés Iniesta. His goal against the Netherlands in the 2010 final came a mere four minutes from the end of extra time in a brutal encounter. There was no way back for the Dutch after that and Spain had realised their dream at last.
Ladislao Moñino García writes for El País. Follow him here on Twitter.