2010 FIFA World Cup winners Spain have ended up in the same group as 2014 winners Germany, for the 2022 FIFA World Cup to be held in Qatar.
Spain, coached by Luis Enrique, find themselves in Group E with Germany, Japan and the winner of the World Cup qualifying play-off between New Zealand and Costa Rica.
This is the second time Spain have been grouped with Germany in recent years, with the four-time world champions also being in their last UEFA Nations League group. There, the two nations drew 1-1 in Germany, before La Roja handed Die Mannschaft a 6-0 thrashing in Spain, en route to the Nations League final.
Japan, who suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to Belgium in the last World Cup, have their work cut out against two European giants.
The final nation in the group will be the winner of the play-off final between New Zealand and Costa Rica. The Kiwis won the Oceania qualifiers, whereas Costa Rica finished fourth in the CONCACAF qualifiers.
La Roja will begin their World Cup campaign on 23 November against New Zealand/Costa Rica, followed by the game against Germany on 27 November, before rounding off the group stage against Japan on 1 December.
Spain have had a run of good results in recent major tournaments; La Roja reached the semis in the 2021 European Championships, and followed that by finishing runners-up in the Nations League.
Luis Enrique has breathed life into the squad with an extraordinary pool of young talents in his arsenal, who’ll be armed with the task of doing better than the round of 16 exit that Spain managed in Russia ’18.
