Spain team 2018

The Spanish national team is one of the leading candidates for next year's World Cup in Russia, and Jolene Lobetigi is in charge of the La Rioja team.

Julien Lobetigi took charge of Spain in July 2016, inheriting a heavy historical legacy - a team that won the European Cup and the FIFA World Cup for the first time in the country's history.

To start after the line of the Spanish team to retreat and landing and to be evident in the last three international tournaments.

The 51-year-old coach has exceeded all expectations in just a year and a half since sitting on the bench.

Spain returned to the elite world, and became one of the strongest candidates in Russia 2018.

In an exclusive interview with FIFA, he spoke of the four most important issues in dealing with La Rioja, which he said were keys to the team.

Looking to the future

"Spain has won a lot of titles recently, it is good to look back to that golden age and thanked the best generation in Spanish football and one of the best generations through the ages, but all this is forgotten.

Now, some of these players are left along with other young people, and we try to mix generations, but without falling into the trap of comparison.

We are confident in the rising players, in their abilities, in their quality and in their ambition. We have to let them go their way. "

• Process change with a lot of communication

"It is clear that the process of change is not easy and is punctuated by accurate details, and we try, above all, to speak clearly with the players, to transfer the style of football we want and restore confidence, we had to make the necessary changes to strengthen the team.

We are well aware that what we have achieved in the qualifying stage does not guarantee us anything at all, just as in the past: the Spanish team, which won great titles, did not guarantee anything.

Here's the only thing that guarantees you something football is playing during the competition, and we have to be prepared for it. "

• Adapt tactics with players

"The current team cannot play in the same way as the past, simply because there are no similar teams, they are different groups, with players who have subtle differences.

That is why we have tried to enhance the virtues of the players, adapting them to our way of understanding the game to be competitive, organized, fierce and ambitious.

The big team must be able to respond to different situations with the knowledge that the best response is to strengthen your strengths, that's what we tried to do, play our style and then be able to adapt to each situation without losing the essence of what makes us stronger. "

• A new generation with a winning mentality

"Many of the players from this new generation were playing under my command in the youth teams and then burned the stages, and thanks to natural development, some of them accompany us in this adventure.

Esco, for example, is a player who has managed to impose himself in Real Madrid. This is not easy, he is only 24 years old, he has an outstanding talent and a big margin for improvement.

ISESCO and other players gained the experience of winning titles at an early age and were able to develop this ambition.

"The players who have won the youth categories have added value in their minds. This is not an indispensable condition, but it is a positive thing, because the player can resort to these experiences in critical times, and we hope he will benefit from them."

The draw drew the Spanish side alongside their neighbors Portugal in addition to each of the teams of Iran and Morocco, in a group classified by experts as the strongest group in the World Cup.