FIFA world no. 8 Spain will tackle lowly squad Liechtenstein at the Estadio Reino de León on Monday, Sep. 5 as part of the three matches to kick off Group G competitions in the opening round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup UEFA qualifying tournament.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 8:45 p.m. UTC+2. It can be viewed live online thru FuboTV.
Spain and Liechtenstein also have Italy, Albania, Israel, and Macedonia in the group with the number one team at the end of the round qualifying outright to the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the runner-up moving on into the second round of qualifiers in October next year.
La Furia Roja is coming off a disappointing stint in the 2016 European Championship as they were prematurely eliminated by Italy in the round-of-16 stage, 0-2, at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on June 27, The Guardian reported.
With the humiliating loss, manager Vicente del Bosque retired from the sport at age 65 after the Euros and was replaced by former Real Madrid B and Porto head coach Julen Lopetegui, who will lead the Spaniards this time around.
Lopetegui's squad is still star-studded even as veteran footballers Andres Iniesta, Santi Cazorla, Juanfran, Aritz Aduriz, and Cesc Fabregas declined to participate.
The Spanish team has Manchester United's David De Gea in between the sticks; Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos, Barcelona's Gerard Pique and Jordi Alaba, Bayern Munich's Javi Martinez, and Chelsea's Cesar Azpilicueta in the backfield; Manchester City's David Silva, Barcelona's Sergio Busquets, Manchester United's Juan Mata, and Atletico Madrid's Koke and Saul Niguez at midfield; and Real Madrid's Alvaro Morata and Lucas Vazquez, Barcelona's Paco Alcacer, Chelsea's Diego Costa, and Manchester City's Nolito up front.
Spain is predicted to contend with Italy for the top spot of Group G.
Meanwhile, Liechtenstein is ranked 182 in the world by FIFA and is one of the weakest teams not only in the group but also in the whole tournament as well.
Head coach Rene Pauritsch's squad is not expected to advance even in the second round of the qualifiers as the team lacked club stars, except perhaps Reading's Sandro Wieser and Empoli's Marcel Buchel.
The Blue-Reds were whitewashed by Denmark, 0-5, in a friendly on Thursday at the CASA Arena Horsens, as per ESPN, as a warmup for the qualifying competitions.
Prediction and Predicted Lineup
The predicted result is a 5-0 lopsided win for Spain.
Spain starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): De Gea; Martinez, Pique, Ramos, Alba; Mata, Busquets, Koke; Silva, Morata, Nolito
Liechtenstein starting lineup (4-1-4-1 formation): Jehle; Rechsteiner, Polverino, Kaufmann, Burgmeier; Wieser; Hasler, Christen, Martin Buchel, Salanovic; Marcel Buchel