Spanish head coach Luis Enrique has stated that he would prefer to see either Lionel Messi's Argentina or Luis Suarez's Uruguay lift the World Cup should his side fail to do so. The former Barcelona manager made the admission ahead of La Roja's opening game against Costa Rica on Wednesday.
The 52-year-old coach's side has been drawn in Group E alongside Germany, Costa Rica and Japan. Despite his roster featuring several young and inexperienced players known in European football, the former Barca manager remains optimistic about their chances to qualify from their group.
Ahead of Spain's opener with Costa Rica next week, Luis Enrique has revealed that he is unfazed about the magnitude of the task ahead and retains full trust in the players selected.
"I'm not worried about youth, he said.
"Football has evolved, the young players have a lot of enthusiasm, the veteran players lead the group and the young players let themselves be led.
"Our aim is to finish top of the group. We already know who we would face in the last 16 and we would play someone from Brazil's group in the semi-finals, but who said we were afraid?"
"Hopefully it's Spain who will be the surprise, although for me it wouldn't be a surprise," he added.
Although Luis Enrique trusts that Spain will go farther in the competition, he added that he hopes for either Lionel Messi or Luis Suarez to win the trophy should his side fall short. Having managed both players at Camp Nou during his successful stint from 2014 to 2017, he believes that one of the two forwards deserved to end his career with a world title under their belt.
"If we don't win it, I would like Argentina. It would be very unfair for a player of Messi's stature to retire without a World Cup. Also Uruguay for Luis Suarez," Luis Enrique opined in his Twitch streaming debut on Friday.
Lionel Messi's Argentina will feature in Group C alongside Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Poland while Luis Suarez and his compatriot will aim to qualify out of a tougher group featuring Portugal, South Korea and Ghana.
