After disappointing at the past two World Cups, Spain were hoping for greater success at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
Luis Enrique's side had appeared to find form at the right time, and in September they dramatically secured a place in the UEFA Nations League Finals with a late win against Iberian rivals Portugal.
Spain had lost just one match so far in 2022 coming into the finals — against Switzerland — and they were hoping to cap off a strong year by lifting a second World Cup in their history.
They were drawn in a tricky group, however, and although they came through unscathed, they knew they couldn't afford to slip up at the wrong time in their quest for silverware.
Here's how they got on.
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Spain 2022 World Cup schedule
Spain kicked off their World Cup campaign against Costa Rica in Doha, and in some style!
They made their mark on the 2022 World Cup with a 7-0 thrashing of Los Ticos, and a performance that sent a message to sides backed to win the tournament.
Gavi was the pick of the action, becoming Spain's youngest-ever goalscorer in the thumping win.
Luis Enrique's team next faced a wounded Germany side who were stunned by Japan in their opener, but despite taking the lead through Alvaro Morata, they were frustrated as substitute Niclas Fullkrug saved Die Mannschaft with a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw.
They wrapped up the group stage against the Samurai Blue, in one of the most dramatic games of the group stage.
Having gone ahead, via Morata, Japan the repeated the trick of their shock Germany win and came from behind to snatch it 2-1. There was some debate about whether Ao Tanaka's winning goal should have stood, after the ball appeared to go out of play before it was crossed, but the goal was given and Spain were defeated.
That meant they surprisingly finished second in the group, and set up a meeting with Morocco in the Round of 16.
On paper, they would have been happy with that draw, but the North Africans produced a gusty display to book their place in history.
After the game had gone to extra time following a 0-0 draw, Spain failed with their first three spot-kicks in the shootout, leaving Achraf Hakimi to nervelessly convert the decisive kick with an audacious Panenka chip, and send his team through to the quarterfinal.
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Group E match schedule and results
| Date | Match | Stadium |
| Wed, Nov. 23 | Spain 7 Costa Rica 0 | Al Thumama Stadium |
| Sun, Nov. 27 | Spain 1 Germany 1 | Al Bayt Stadium |
| Thu, Dec. 1 | Spain 1 Japan 2 | Khalifa International Stadium |
Knockout schedule, as Spain finished 2nd in Group E
| Date | Stage | Match | Stadium |
| Tue, Dec. 6 | Round of 16 | Morocco 0 Spain 0 (3-0 pens, aet) | Education City |
*Only in event of defeat in semifinals
World Cup Group E final standings
| Team | PTS | GP | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Japan Q | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 |
| 2. Spain Q | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 |
| 3. Germany | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 |
| 4. Costa Rica | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 11 | -8 |
How to watch the World Cup
Here's how to watch the World Cup action in the major global territories:
| Territory | TV | Streaming |
| US | FOX/FS1/Telemundo (Spanish)/Universo (Spanish) | fuboTV, Fox Sports app, Telemundo En Vivo |
| Canada | TSN | TSN GO |
| UK | BBC/ITV/STV | BBC iPlayer, ITVX, STV Player |
| Australia | SBS | SBS On Demand |
| India | Sports18 | Voot TV |
Qatar World Cup game times
Qatar resides in the Arabian Standard Time Zone, which is GMT +3. World Cup 2022 kickoff times in the major global territories are:
Group stage:
- 1:00 p.m. (local) / 5:00 a.m. (ET) / 10:00 a.m. (GMT) / 9:00 p.m. (AEDT) / 3:30 p.m. (IST)
- 4:00 p.m. (local) / 8:00 a.m. (ET) / 1:00 p.m. (GMT) / 12:00 a.m. (AEDT) / 6:30 p.m. (IST)
- 7:00 p.m. (local) / 11:00 a.m. (ET) / 4:00 p.m. (GMT) / 3:00 a.m. (AEDT) / 9:30 p.m. (IST)
- 10:00 p.m. (local) / 2:00 p.m. (ET) / 7:00 p.m. (GMT) / 6:00 a.m. (AEDT) / 12:30 a.m. (IST)
Knockout stage (ET):
- 6:00 p.m. (local) / 10:00 a.m. (ET) / 3:00 p.m. (GMT) / 2:00 a.m. (AEDT) / 8:30 p.m. (IST) (Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Third Place Match, Final)
- 10:00 p.m. (local) / 2:00 p.m. (ET) / 7:00 p.m. (GMT) / 6:00 a.m. (AEDT) / 12:30 a.m. (IST) (Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals)
