Spain was simply bad in the 2018 World Cup, where they struggled to go through the group stage before disappointing everyone in the knockout rounds. They will now look to shine under a new coach and a change of scenery. Spain will travel to England on Saturday, where the local national team will host them. England, on the other hand, was excellent in the World Cup, breaking a curse of over two decades.
England easily went through the group stage but struggled a bit to overcome Colombia in the round of 16. They went on to eliminate Sweden in the quarter-finals but fell against Croatia in the semis. England lost to Belgium in the 3rd place match, but their course was quite satisfying. Coach Southgate had created one of the youngest teams England have ever had, and it worked out. He retained 18 of his 23 selected players, leaving out Vardy, Young, and Cahill among others. He called up Luke Shaw, Alex McCarthy, Joe Gomez, and James Tarkowski, all up-and-coming players.
Spain looked pretty solid in the 2018 World Cup premiere against Portugal, in that mouth-watering 3-3 draw. However, they seemed old, tired and uninspired in the rest of their short run in the tournament. They struggled to defeat Iran by a slim 1-0, before splitting the points in a 2-2 draw against the indifferent side of Morocco. But Spain looked uninspired in the round of 16 against Russia, where they eventually bowed out. Andres Iniesta, David Silva, and Gerard Pique retired from the national team, so it was time for a change. Coach Enrique retained a core of young players and called up a trio of uncapped players (Pau Lopez, Dani Ceballos, and Jose Gaya). He also included Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso, Alvaro Morata and Kepa Arrizabalaga to bring some extra depth.