Ansu Fathy will get a chance to get out. The young Spanish star (age 20) will start La Roja’s friendly against Jordan on Thursday. This is the final test for the Spanish team before their World Cup debut (November 23, 5pm against Costa Rica).
Fati was Luis Enrique’s biggest question mark when deciding his 26-man World Cup squad as the Barcelona striker recovers from four surgeries to repair a knee injury in November 2020.
But his coach claims to have watched Barcelona’s progress. “I see him well, much better than he was last time. Tomorrow he will play from the start and I expect him to play the full 90 minutes.Luis Enrique said at a press conference in Amman on Wednesday. “I would appreciate it if we would stop talking about Anzu (Fathi) As a player who overcame injury. I already told him. A professional player gets injured and recovers. Then what you need to recover is his level of play. When you look at training he has. »
“The conclusions I take from this match with Jordan are important and the players know that. We take the game very seriously. Our goal is clear: play seven matches in Qatar. Enrique continued.
Other concerns
Luis Enrique, on the other hand, will take no chances with players returning from injury such as Atletico de Madrid duo Marcos Llorente and Alvaro Morata and Valencia defender Hugo Guillemón. “If the first game of the World Cup was tomorrow, they would be there to play. In training, I see them at a very high level, almost abnormal. But there is no point in taking the risk now. »
Spain’s World Cup opener is against Costa Rica on November 23. The Spaniards will also face Germany and Japan in Group E.