Former Sporting Gijon and Russian national team forward Dmitry Cheryshev shared his expectations for the Spanish national team performance at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
- Since the World Cup will be held without Russia, I wonder what do you think about the prospects for Spain in Qatar?
- There have been big changes in both Barcelona and the Spanish national team, and this is directly related to the national team's performance. Luis Enrique uses the abilities of every young player in their preferred positions. You can see he is working hard. In Qatar there will be a difficult match against Germany in the group, but I think these teams will compete for two playoff spots, Japan and Costa Rica have less chances. I think Spain will stop at the 1/4 finals, it will get harder after that. This is a team with young players, besides, we need to consider Qatar's climatic peculiarities, where the tournament will be held for the first time. For strong teams from Latin America and Africa, the games in the Middle East will be easier than for Spain and other European teams. So by the middle of the tournament this factor could be decisive.
The championship will be interesting. Unfortunately, it will be held without Russia, so I will be rooting for the Spanish team.
Spain will play in Group E against Germany, Japan and Costa Rica. The World Championship in Qatar will begin on November 20 and will end on December 18.