Luis Enrique, technical director of Spain, was left this Sunday with a “strange” feeling after the 1-1 draw against Germany for conceding the goal in the final minutes, but he appreciated that his team is the leader of the “group of death” of the World Cup in Qatar 2022.
“It’s a strange feeling when you’re about to beat Germany and if you don’t, it’s a shame. It’s a bad moment, but quickly we have to think that we’re up in the group of death,” Luis Enrique remarked, after equality in view of
Germany in the duel of world champions in the Al Bayt stadium.
After the 7-0 win against Costa Rica in their debut, the “Red” added a point against Germany in a match that they could also have lost, according to the coach’s opinion, and with another tie against Japan they will qualify for the round of 16.
?️ @LUISENRIQUE21national coach:
➡️ “The tie tastes like disappointment, but we could have lost, if we’re honest. I think the result is fair.”
➡️ “Objective? To go through as the first group and confirm what we have shown.#VamosEspaña | #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/zUR2yMTwqw
— Spanish Soccer Team (@SEFutbol) November 27, 2022
“The draw is good for us but we will try to beat Japan. We are not going to speculate”; assured the exDT of Barcelona.
Álvaro Morata’s goal was played by the left-back Jordi Alba, one of the most experienced in a squad that has made 20 of 26 debutants in World Cups.
“People get tired of veterans but Jordi and Sergio Busquets are two very high-level players. They have been trying to retire ‘Bus’ for several years, but hopefully we can convince him to play another World Cup”, he wished.
?️ Impressions of @LUISENRIQUE21 after the match:
➡️ “It’s a strange feeling when you have the chance to win the game against Germany and you lose it in the last few minutes”.
➡️ “You have to think that we are in the lead after two days”.#VamosEspaña | #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/VZHsVmBp9f
— Spanish Soccer Team (@SEFutbol) November 27, 2022
Luis Enrique lived a “special day” since his daughter Xana would have his birthday this Sunday, who died when she was 9, in 2019, due to cancer.
“It was a special day without a doubt, but with my family we decided to live this naturally. It is evident that we do not have it physically, but we remember it all the time,” he said.
Spain, which was eliminated in the last World Cup edition in Russia 2018 by the host, leads its zone with 4 points and next Thursday will face Japan (3), on the last date.
Álvaro Morata: “Spain played Germany and from that you have to take the positive things”
The Spanish striker Álvaro Morata valued having faced Germany, which he described as a ‘great team’, and for this reason the author of the goal for his representative in the 1-1 draw this Sunday for Group E of the World Cup in Qatar recommended that they should “take the positive things” that left the meeting.
“They are Germany, a great team, and they have had a great opportunity and they have taken advantage of it to equalize,” Morata highlighted in contact with the press at the Al Bayt stadium.
“They have played a good game, they followed the man, they marked our best players and it is a team that could be among the favorites to win the World Cup,” estimated the one who opened the scoring in the second half for the peninsular team.
At the same time, Morata considered that they should “look at the positive things that the game offered and continue working” in pursuit of qualifying for the round of 16.
For his part, defender Dani Carvajal acknowledged that they “lacked patience after Morata’s goal”, so now they “have to correct mistakes and think about Japan”, the next rival to face next Thursday, December 1 at 4:00 p.m. (Argentine time), for the last date of the zone that will define the classification for the next round.
“If we win, we will be first and we have to do it that way. We will go out to win like every game. The coach (DT Luis Enrique) exhausts all the changes, he has us all plugged in and that is very good for the group,” said Carvajal.
For the midfielder Rodrigo Hernández “the goal from Germany could have been avoided”, and he lamented when evaluating that it was generated by “a loss of the ball at the start of the play”
“We knew that the game was going to be difficult because they were risking everything and they accumulated a lot of people up front. I’m a little angry for having tied at the end, but the point is very valuable”, said ‘Rodri’ himself, from Manchester City, in a conformist tone.
Meanwhile, striker Dani Olmos offered a reference to the relationship they have with their fans: “It couldn’t have been qualifying against Germany, so we have to rest and think about Japan to reach our goal. Despite everything, the The atmosphere with our people has always been good from the beginning, now it will not change due to a draw. We must continue with this good dynamic”, he emphasized.
