The bus that transported the Spanish team from Al Bait to its headquarters at Qatar University after the draw against Germany arrived at its destination after two in the morning. The Al Khor tent is the furthest stadium from Doha and the journey takes around an hour. Among the footballers, the good image offered against the four-time world champion weighed more than the bitter taste left by the final stretch of the match, in which the Germans signed the equalizer and even touched the comeback.
The Spanish soccer players made an enormous physical effort to balance the scales against the always rocky Germans and Luis Enrique gave them a little more time off, delaying the training session until noon. They worked a little more rested but also a little more scorched than usual by the sweltering heat, which has now settled in Doha and has no mercy on visitors. Only Gavi, with a blow that was not serious, saved him and was not seen by the green.
The good atmosphere reigned among the footballers as they stepped onto the grass of the training ground and began the warm-up. Laughter and jokes, while Luis Enrique took Unai Simón aside and made some corrections, something insecure in the game with his feet from Vitoria. The work also had a double prize. In the afternoon, the families of the internationals were allowed for the first time access to the headquarters of the red to spend a few hours with their loved ones. For now, calm reigns.
Returning to the field of play, the Spanish coaching staff took good note of what happened against Germany, how their players did not read the last few minutes well and lost control of the game, just what the Mannschaft was interested in. But the general feeling of Luis Enrique and his staff is satisfied for having once again shown that with such a young and inexperienced group in big international battles you can compete against anyone, as Spain has been demonstrating since the Asturian arrived and revolutionized the national team. national, rejuvenated and renewed at once. Less names and more team.
The great speeches of this team are always written with the ball as the common thread and against teams like Germany, whose verbiage goes in the same direction, the challenge is twofold. But the heights do not scare the national team that, for example, barely allowed Flick’s men to have the ball in their possession 33% of the time.
Curiously, what are surely the three best examples of Spain’s good performance at key moments have not had a happy ending. On the other hand, it is an unequivocal sign that the team has a very clear idea of ??the game. Apart from what happened against Germany, in the two most transcendental games of the Luis Enrique era, Spain has had little to reproach itself with. The first was the semifinal of the last European Championship played against Italy, ultimately continental champion, decided on penalties. At Wembley, the team not only dominated (65% to 35% possession and 16 to 7 shots) but also gave a lesson in maturity, recovering from Chiesa’s opening goal. The second was the Nations League final against France played months later. A controversial goal from Mbappé gave the title to the world champion but the reds not only did not wrinkle, but also had the ball 60% of the time and attacked twice as many times as the Frenchmen (66 to 31).
Spain is not afraid of heights.
Check here all the results of the World Cup in Qatar.
