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Europe Champion Could Fall Hard at World Cup Without Season's Best Goalkeeper
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡บ Hungary /Sports

Europe Champion Could Fall Hard at World Cup Without Season's Best Goalkeeper

From Magyar Nemzet · () Hungarian

Translated from Hungarian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Spain's national football team faces a challenging path in the World Cup, potentially meeting strong European and South American teams.
  • Mikel Oyarzabal is highlighted as a key player and potential top scorer for Spain, with a strong recent performance record.
  • The article lists the Spanish squad and their group stage match schedule.

Spain's national football team faces a daunting World Cup draw, with potential matchups against European powerhouses like Austria, Croatia, Belgium, and France, as well as South American contenders like Colombia and Uruguay. Despite the tough route, the team's prospects hinge on key players like Mikel Oyarzabal. Once considered a surprise, Oyarzabal has emerged as a crucial offensive force for Spain. He has a strong scoring record and has been a consistent starter under coach Luis de la Fuente. His decisive goal in the 2024 European Championship final further solidifies his importance, positioning him to potentially become the second player in football history, after Gerd Mรผller, to score in both European Championship and World Cup finals.

The article provides the full Spanish squad for the tournament, including goalkeepers David Raya (Arsenal), Joan Garcรญa (Barcelona), and Unai Simรณn (Athletic Bilbao). Defenders named are Alejandro Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen), Aymeric Laporte (Athletic Bilbao), Eric Garcรญa (Barcelona), Marc Cucurella (Chelsea), Marc Pubill (Atlรฉtico Madrid), Marcos Llorente (Atlรฉtico Madrid), Pau Cubarsรญ (Barcelona), and Pedro Porro (Tottenham). Midfielders include รlex Baena (Atlรฉtico Madrid), Fabiรกn Ruiz (PSG), Gavi (Barcelona), Martรญn Zubimendi (Arsenal), Mikel Merino (Arsenal), Pedri (Barcelona), and Rodri (Manchester City). The attacking lineup features Borja Iglesias (Celta Vigo), Dani Olmo (Barcelona), Ferran Torres (Barcelona), Lamine Yamal (Barcelona), Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao), Yรฉremy Pino (Crystal Palace), and Vรญctor Munoz (Osasuna).

Spain's group stage fixtures are scheduled as follows: June 15 against Cape Verde in Atlanta, June 21 against Saudi Arabia in Atlanta, and June 27 against Uruguay in Guadalajara. The team's performance in these initial matches will be critical in determining their path through the knockout stages and their chances of progressing deep into the tournament.

DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Magyar Nemzet in Hungarian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.