After the first match of the current World Cup season, Luis Enrique became the main contender for the role of head coach at Manchester United. The specialist had such a chance after his brilliant victory in the first game of the tournament in Qatar. Moreover, the defeat of Costa Rica was the largest in the history of the world championships for the Furies of the Roja, while this victory was the first for the Spaniards in the debut match of the group stage of the World Cup for the first time since 2006. After criticism before the start of the World Cup, when the main coach of the team was accused of leaving only Sergio Busquets in the squad, who remained the last player in the team from the red fury of the 2010 model. In addition, a year ago the Spanish national team confidently performed at Euro 2020, where it was considered one of the favorites of the tournament. The national team easily passed the group round of the championship, after which they beat Croatia and Switzerland, but in the semi-finals in a series of 11-meter strikes, the Spaniards lost to the future champion, the Italian team. Gillamon will be out of the game today with a knee injury.
For the German national team, today’s opponent looks even more ominous against the background of the fiasco in the first game against Japan (1:2). Moreover, the memories of the last face-to-face meeting are fresh, when the Spaniards smashed the German car to smithereens with a score of 6:0, which was the biggest defeat for nominal guests since 1931. This result seems to have hastened the departure of Joachim Low last year. This specialist has spent a very long time at the helm of the national team. It is now up to current boss Hansi Flick, who was previously Low’s assistant, to stabilize the ship and avoid a repeat of Germany’s shock elimination from the group stage in 2018. However, there are reasons for concern. The Bundestim played brilliantly in qualifying, followed by a dismal performance in the League of Nations. Moreover, in the first match of the current tournament, Germany lost after leading in the first half. The last time this happened to the team back in 1978.