[ad_1]
Due to injuries, Spain entered the decisive World Cup qualifiers against Greece and Sweden without some key players.
In Greece on Thursday and Sunday against Sweden, coach Luis Enrique did not have nine players on the field.
Spain entered the final two games with second place in Group B, two points behind Sweden and four points ahead of third place Greece. Only the winner of the group stage is eligible to participate in next year’s competition in Qatar, while the second place must pass the play-offs.
read: England’s James enjoys his best form before the World Cup qualifiers
Pedri Gonzalez, Ferran Torres and Marcos Llorente helped Spain reach the semi-finals of the European Championship a few months ago, and none of them could be called up by Luis Enrique.
Also absent from Euro 2020 are Gerard Moreno, Mikel Oyarzabal and Eric García.
Garcia was injured while playing for Barcelona in the Spanish League. Young forward Anzu Fati returned to the national team due to another injury.
Jeremiah Pino was another injured player who had to be replaced after being called.
The coach is able to recover some players from recent injuries, including Pau Torres, José Luis Gayà, Jordi Alba, Álvaro Morata and Dani Olmo.
read: Van Gaal has confidence in Holland World Cup qualification
Two victories are enough for Spain to take first place in the group stage and qualify for the World Cup without relying on other results.
A draw with Greece will ensure at least second place in the group, which will allow Spain to enter the playoffs with nine other group runners-up and the two group champions of the European League. These 12 countries will be divided into three and four teams, and will play in March next year. The seeded team won the home game in the bracket semifinals.
Sweden’s victory in fourth place Georgia on Thursday and Spain’s match against Greece will ensure Sweden’s first place.
Spain has qualified for every World Cup since 1978 and won the only championship in South Africa in 2010. It was eliminated by host Russia in the last 16 games of the 2018 World Cup.
“I can’t imagine a World Cup without Spain,” forward Blahim Diaz said. “We still have two finals and we have to win them.”
[ad_2]
Source link
