Luis Enrique calls Carvajal and Ansu Fati

Spain plays the ticket to the World Cup next week, it will face Greece, next Thursday in Athens, and against Sweden, on Sunday 14 in Seville. Luis Enrique has given the squad for those games with the presence, for the first time since last March, of a Real Madrid player. The chosen one has been Carvajal. In addition, the return of Ansu Fati, also absent for a long time due to his knee injury, that of Morata, equally recovered, and that of Brahim. Dani Olmo, also reappeared, is another good news. By contrast, Spain will not be able to count on two of the undisputed, Ferran Torres and Oyarzabal, both injured.

La Roja need victory in both commitments, at the Athens Olympic and La Cartuja, to qualify for the World Cup without waiting for a puncture from the Swedes, who have recovered Ibrahimovic for the occasion and are the leaders of the group classification with 15 points, two more than Spain. If they are not first, Spain would have to play the play-off in March, a devilish play-off with only three places for twelve countries. An ordeal that he can avoid if he wins next Thursday in Athens and the following Sunday at La Cartuja, with the unconditional support of the Sevilla fans.

The playoff thing is better not to think about it. It will be contested by the ten seconds of the ten qualifying groups plus the two best Nations League finishers who have failed to get into the World Cup. Of course, the ‘playoff’ in March is a minefield. The top ten seconds and the two classified via Nations League will meet in six semi-finals (March 24 and 25) in a single match and by pure draw. The remaining six will play it all to one card in three finals (March 28 and 29) from which the last three classified for the World Cup will come out, completing the quota of 13 countries that Europe has. Both the finals and the semifinals will be a single match.

The Selection has fifteen participations and six absences in the 21 World Cups that have been played to date. Spain was absent exclusively in 1930 (Uruguay), 1938 (France), 1954 (Switzerland), 1958 (Sweden), 1970 (Mexico) and 1974 (Germany). Since then he has accumulated eleven consecutive World Cups.