ARTEX-i4232

Spain kick off their qualifying campaign for the 2022 Qatar World Cup on Thursday, with Luis Enrique’s side looking to book their place in the finals in December next year.

La Roja have featured in 15 of the 21 World Cups to date and they start as strong favourites to emerge from a group containing Georgia, Kosovo, Sweden and Thursday’s opponents Greece.

Enrique sprung a few surprises when his squad for the upcoming clashes was announced, with only six players from Spain’s ‘big three’ clubs involved.

Here’s how his starting XI could look as they take on John van ‘t Schip’s team.

David de Gea (GK) – The Manchester United man has been absent from club duty since the birth of his daughter, though he’s been named in Enrique’s 24-man squad so is likely to be given the nod.

Pedro Porro (RB) – Received his maiden call-up to the senior side after a fine season with Sporting CP and could be handed his debut.

Sergio Ramos (CB) – Has spent a lot of time on the sidelines in recent months, though Enrique is clearly keen to have him around the squad. He’ll be expecting to feature having been called up.

Eric Garcia (CB) – Beginning to flourish at Manchester City this season and is emerging as a real top centre-back talent. Will be hoping to add to his four senior caps earned so far.

Jordi Alba (LB) – Has started to come under pressure in recent years having been Spain’s number on left-back for so long, though the shirt is still his for now.

Rodri (CM) – Having struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League he’s beginning to find his feet at Manchester City and is playing easily the best football of his fledgling career in England.

Koke (CM) – An almost ever-present for Atletico Madrid this season and will be a shoo-in for pretty much every midfield selected by Enrique.

Sergio Canales (CM) – Wasn’t handed his senior debut until the age of 28, despite representing Spain at every possible youth level. Now that his first cap – bagged in 2019 – is under his belt, he’s going from strength to strength.

Ferran Torres (RW) – Starting to show glimpses of what he can do when given the chance in a Manchester City shirt. Is highly thought of by those involved in the national team setup.

Alvaro Morata (ST) – One ‘weak’ area among Spain’s current generation of stars is at centre forward. Alvaro Morata is the best option available, although Gerard Moreno will have something to say about that.

Mikel Oyarzabal (LW) – Hasn’t been able to nail down a place in the national team since making his debut in 2016, but he’s enjoying a superb campaign with Real Sociedad.

It was not pretty. In fact, at times it was close to unwatchable, but Tottenham’s 2-0 away win over Aston Villa suggested that, for better or for worse, the José Mourinho experiment is not dead…yet.

Mourinho’s future had been seriously questioned this week after Spurs were beaten in the north London derby and dumped out of the Europa League by a team whose manager was sent to prison 48 hours before kick off.

It is hard to overstate just how rancid Thursday’s performance was. Captain Hugo Lloris certainly did not hold back after the game, describing his team’s exit as a ‘disgrace’. Some of his other comments could also be interpreted as pointed jabs in Mourinho’s direction, fuelling rumours that the former Chelsea boss had lost the dressing room.

If that is true, there was little evidence of it being the case on Sunday at Villa Park. Despite Mourinho ringing the changes – with Japhet Tanganga, Joe Rodon and Giovani Lo Celso being handed rare starts – Tottenham showed the necessary grit and determination to secure a much-needed three points.

Their start was not vintage, but after Carlos Vinicius tapped home Lucas Moura’s cross in the 29th minute they did not look in any serious danger of conceding. It took until the hour mark for the hosts to register an attempt on goal and they ended with an xG of just 0.46. Of course, this must come with the caveat of there being no Jack Grealish in claret and blue, but even still, there can be few complaints about the performances of Tanganga, Davinson Sanchez or Rodon at the back.

In the attacking third, Mourinho’s Spurs also require some credit. At this point it goes without saying that Kane is brilliant and his clever winning and subsequent conversion of a second-half penalty took him to within 100 goals of Alan Shearer’s Premier League goalscoring record.

Spurs’ supporting cast were also impressive. After that aforementioned slow start, they started clicking. Vinicius grabbed his first league strike and his compatriot, Moura, caught the eye with some positive runs into the box. Meanwhile, Ndombele was unplayable at times, toying with Villa’s midfield with a sizeable repertoire of flicks and feints.

The result moves Tottenham up to sixth in the table, just one shy of West Ham in fifth and three adrift of the Champions League places. Add to this their Carabao Cup final against Manchester City next month and suddenly things do not look so apocalyptically bad as they did on Thursday night.

After that humiliation, this Villa win was desperately needed. While the chances of Mourinho’s tenure ending in tears are still extremely high, the performance at least proved that there is still some fight left in the north Londoners as we approach the business end of the season.

While a piece of silverware and top-four finish are tantalisingly within reach, the threat of a trophyless campaign and return to the Europa League still looms large.