Luis Enrique spoke to the press on Tuesday afternoon ahead of La Roja’s final match of the international break against Kosovo in Kosovo tomorrow night. The man from Asturias was keen to stress how difficult a test he was expecting, and underline the importance of the clash to Spain’s World Cup qualifying campaign.
“It’s necessary to try to disconnect from everything external to control what we can control,” Luis Enrique said in comments carried by Mundo Deportivo. “It’s very difficult to win games and in the final few rounds even more so. It’s going to be one of the most complicated games of the group. Kosovo don’t shut up shop. They’re brave, daring. They have less points than they deserve, and they’re a team that’s going to complicate our lives a lot.”
Spain have endured a mixed international break. They lost 2-1 to Sweden in their first game before thumping Georgia 4-0 in their second. As things stand, they’re top of their qualifying group but just a point clear of Sweden, who have two games in hand. The showdown between the two, set for November 14th, is set to be the game where all’s decided given just one team is guaranteed of their place in Qatar from each group.
Much of the optimism that had burnished Luis Enrique’s team has, if not diminished, quietened down. Spain did well at Euro 2020 this past summer, recovering from a shaky start by making it as far as the semi-final, where they lost to eventual winners Italy.
