Previously feared rival, Spain leaves the Cup with a victory

Even before the start of the World Cup in Qatar, projections pointed to a possible confrontation between the first placed groups E and G in the quarterfinals, that is, Spain (or Germany) against Brazil.

Some analysts-dreamers-seers projected real battles with the Brazilians facing only world champions until the final: Uruguay in the round of 16, Spain in the quarterfinals, Argentina in the semifinal (still possible) and France in the final (who knows…).

After the first round, the duel with Spain seemed not only marked but feared. After all, while Brazil was beating Serbia in a tough game, in which Neymar and Danilo left the field injured, Spain massacred Costa Rica by a merciless 7-0, in the most imposing game between two teams in Qatar —more even than the England 6 x 2 Iran. Before the 15 minutes of the second half, pop-streamer coach Luis Enrique was already resting his starters, and taking turns with his young players, fast and skilled.

The prophetic encounter was still well designed after the second round, with Brazil practically defining the first place in its group with the victory against Switzerland by 1 to 0; while the Spaniards, with some changes in the team, drew 1-1 with the Germans, in a duel in which they had control most of the time.

“Is there any team better than Spain? Football-wise, clearly not. We have favorites like France and Brazil, but they don’t surprise anyone”, declared Luis Enrique in a live on Twitch, spreading terror in the other 31 delegations.

In fact, at that point, the pockets were being built with Spain following until the final phase. But then came the third round of the group stage. Brazil lost with a reserve team, in a game that ended up not making any difference against Cameroon. But Spain came out ahead again and did not win. Worse, it took the turn against Japan, which took the Spaniards out of the lead and, consequently, out of Brazil’s path.

In the Round of 16, the Spaniards were stopped by Morocco’s competent positional play. They surrounded and exchanged many passes, like Barcelona (already coached by Luis Enrique) in good times. But they almost couldn’t finish. On penalties, they finished and did not score, 3-0 for Morocco.

“They [marroquinos] they played their game, it went well for them, they were better than us at penalty kicks. They are to be congratulated. Young people have to learn to lose too, regardless of whether they deserve it or not”, analyzed the coach on Spanish public television.

A day earlier, Brazil ran over South Korea in their best game in the Cup, with Neymar returning and the collective attack working.

Feared, Spain returns home with just one win in four games — in addition to two draws and one defeat.

Brazil, on the other hand, reached the quarterfinals, and faces Croatia this Friday (9), who eliminated Japan, the first of Group E.