FIFA World Cup 2022: Spain won’t gamble to avoid possible Brazil clash in World Cup knockout stages – Luis Enrique

Spain’s boss Luis Enrique has revealed that his team won’t gamble to avoid a possible Brazil clash in the quarterfinal of the ongoing World Cup. Spain is currently at the top of Group E with four points in two matches.

The Spanish team will face Japan in their last Group stage match on Thursday. Spain had secured a thumping 7-0 win in their opening match against Costa Rica and then they had shared spoils against Germany in their second game.

Spain could face the second-placed team of Group F – either Morocco, Croatia or Belgium – and they could take on Brazil in the quarterfinal if there aren’t any major upsets.

Enrique said the team wants to take one step at a time and not get ahead of themselves.

“It’s a great question because we’ve thought about it too,” Luis Enrique said in a news conference on Wednesday when asked if finishing second in the group might be better for his side.

“But imagine we want to finish second, we get to the 90th minute and it’s 0-0 in the two games, and in the 95th minute with 15 seconds left, Japan and Costa Rica both score. You gambled, and you’re out.

“Or imagine Germany are 5-0 up, we’re looking for a draw, and Japan score and we’re out. When you’re convinced that you have a very good team and you want to play seven games [to get to the final], it isn’t about finishing second. We want to finish first. If we play Brazil in the quarterfinals, great, we’ll play Brazil. But we won’t count our chickens before they’ve hatched.”

Enrique added that Brazil is always a favorite in the World Cup as they are a force to reckon with in the big events.

“Brazil is a world power, a clear favorite in any World Cup, in any year,” Luis Enrique added.

“Brazil will always be among the favorites, they have a lot of individual and collective qualities. Beyond that, there aren’t any surprises. I look at the FIFA rankings and the majority of the favorites are in the top ten. France and Brazil have both won comfortably, they’re top teams.”