Spain’s youngsters look to fire Germans out of equation

Doha, November 26

When the World Cup draw came out in April, one of the highlights of the group stage was tomorrow’s Spain vs Germany at Al Bayt Stadium.

Eight months later, the game between the two former world champions and pre-tournament favourites gained even more prominence thanks to Germany’s surprising loss to Japan in their opener in Qatar.

Another setback against Spain this weekend and Germany may be heading home early for the second straight World Cup. A loss — coupled with at least a draw by Japan against Costa Rica earlier tomorrow — will mean elimination for the four-time champions.

Spain, meanwhile, will be looking to secure their spot in the next stage and reinforce their status as one of the top title contenders following an impressive 7-0 rout of Costa Rica in their opener.

Of course they are under pressure because they need to win after the loss against Japan, but we know Germany is one of the best national teams in the world and you cannot put them down after one game. —Dani Olmo, Spain Striker

The signs are not encouraging for Germany. Their most recent match against Spain was an embarrassing 6-0 defeat in the Nations League two years ago. Their last win against the ‘La Roja’ came in a friendly eight years ago.

Germany won their fourth World Cup title in 2014 in Brazil but didn’t make it out of the group stage in 2018 after losses to South Korea and Mexico. It would be the first time they fail to advance past the group stage in back-to-back tournaments.

Spain won their lone World Cup in 2010 in South Africa and were eliminated in the Round of 16 in 2018 in Russia. A win against Germany will allow Spain to reach the last-16 if Costa Rica don’t defeat Japan.

Expectations around Spain’s young squad were raised after their outstanding performance against Costa Rica, when the team reintroduced tiki-taka ball-possession style and 18-year-old Gavi became the youngest World Cup scorer since Pele in 1958. — AP

6-0Germany’s most recent match against Spain was an embarrassing 6-0 defeat in the Nations League two years ago. Their last win against the La Roja came in a friendly eight years ago.

34 Spain last loss to Germany in official competitions was 34 years ago, in the 1988 European Championship. The two have played out two draws and three wins since then.

7The seven goals scored against Costa Rica matched Spain’s tournament total from Russia in 2018.