Spain World Cup draw 2022: Group E results with Germany, matches, fixtures, star players, roster and coach

Sean Markus Clifford

Jeorge Bird

Spain World Cup draw 2022: Group E results with Germany, matches, fixtures, star players, roster and coach image

Spain has been drawn to play against notorious rivals Germany, Japan, and the winners of the intercontinental playoff two that is set to be played between Costa Rica and New Zealand in FIFA World Cup 2022 Group E in Qatar.

The clash against Germany will be a repeat of the 2010 World Cup semifinals in South Africa, where Carles Puyol settled the score as Spain ran out 1-0 winners on their way to eventual tournament glory. 

Japan will also provide a stern test, after comfortably negotiating AFC World Cup qualifying Group B, where they finished in second place. Costa Rica or New Zealand will also lie in wait for Luis Enrique's men, with the winner of intercontinental playoff two set to face off against Spain in their opening Group E fixture on Nov. 23.

WORLD CUP DRAW BREAKDOWNS:
Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D
Group E | Group F | Group G | Group H

Spain World Cup draw Group E

Team PTS GP W L D GF GA GD
E1: Spain 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
E2: CRC/NZ* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
E3: Germany 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
E4: Japan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

* = Winner of Intercontinental Playoff (Costa Rica vs. New Zealand)

Group E match schedule

Date Match Time (ET) Stadium
Wed, Nov. 23 Germany vs. Japan 8 a.m. Khalifa Int'l
Wed, Nov. 23 Spain vs. CRC/NZ 11 a.m. Al Thumama
Sun, Nov. 27 Japan vs. CRC/NZ 5 a.m. Ahmad Bin Ali
Sun, Nov. 27 Spain vs. Germany 2 p.m. Al Bayt
Thurs, Dec. 1 Japan vs. Spain 2 p.m. Khalifa Int'l
Thurs, Dec. 1 CRC/NZ vs. Germany 2 p.m. Al Bayt

Spain's all-time World Cup groups

Year 1st place 2nd place 3rd place 4th place
2018 Spain Portugal Iran Morocco
2014 Netherlands Chile Spain  Australia
2010 Spain Chile Switzerland Honduras
2006 Spain Ukraine Tunisia Saudi Arabia
2002 Spain Paraguay South Africa Slovenia
1998 Nigeria  Paraguay Spain Bulgaria
1994 Germany Spain South Korea Bolivia
1990 Spain Belgium Uruguay South Korea
1986 Brazil Spain Northern Ireland Algeria
1982 (second group stage) West Germany England Spain  
1982 Northern Ireland Spain Yugoslavia Honduras
1966 West Germany Argentina Spain Switzerland
1962 Brazil Czechoslovakia Mexico Spain
1950 Spain England Chile United States

Spain World Cup snapshot

Spain's squad may not be as strong overall as it previously was but there are some very exciting young prospects who are establishing themselves on the international stage, including Barcelona trio Pedri, Gavi and Ferran Torres.

Winger Ansu Fati will also hope to be fully fit for the tournament in Qatar, while Adama Traore's January move to Barcelona also sees the former Wolves winger back in the Spanish league.

Star Players: Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Rodri (Manchester City), Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City)

Players to Watch: Pedri (Barcelona), Gavi (Barcelona), Ferran Torres (Barcelona)

Spain squad

Spain may not be quite as dynamic as they were in the past but they can still cause many problems for opponents with their passing and creativity. The experienced David De Gea and Sergio Busquets have been left out of the latest squad, which indicates something of a changing of the guard moment.

Spain projected World Cup starting XI

4-3-3 (left to right): Simon (GK) — Carvajal, Laporte, Garcia, Alba — Rodri, Pedri, Koke — Sarabia, Morata, Torres.

Spain strengths: 

Midfield has often been a strong area for Spain and that remains the case as they are able to call upon a mixture of experienced players and talented youngsters.

Spain weaknesses: 

Spain isn't the most prolific of teams, and they may not be able to compete with some of the other leading nations in terms of attacking firepower.

MORE WORLD CUP 2022:
Full draw results | TV schedule | Latest news

Spain roster (recent call-ups): 

Name Position Age Club Caps/Goals
Jordi Alba  Defender 33 Barcelona 80/8
Cesar Azpilicueta Defender 36 Chelsea 36/1
Sergio Busquets  Midfielder 33 Barcelona 133/2
Sergio Canales Midfielder 31 Real Betis 10/1
Dani Carvajal Defender 30 Real Madrid 26/0
Raul De Tomas Striker 27 Espanyol 2/0
Pablo Fornals Midfielder 26 West Ham 6/1
Eric Garcia Defender 21 Barcelona 14/0
Gavi Midfielder 17 Barcelona 4/0
Jose Gaya Defender 26 Valencia 17/3
Bryan Gil Winger 21 Tottenham 4/0
Koke  Midfielder 30 Atletico Madrid 61/0
Aymeric Laporte Defender 27 Manchester City 14/1
Diego Llorente Defender 28 Leeds  8/0
Marcos Llorente Midfielder 27 Atletico Madrid 10/0
Inigo Martinez Defender 30 Athletic Bilbao 17/0
Brais Mendez Midfielder 25 Celta Vigo 4/1
Mikel Merino Midfielder 25 Real Sociedad 11/0
Alvaro Morata Striker 29 Juventus 50/23
Gerard Moreno Striker 29 Villarreal 17/5
Dani Olmo Midfielder 23 RB Leipzig 18/3
Mikel Oyarzabal Winger 24 Real Sociedad 21/6
Pedri Midfielder 19 Barcelona 10/0
Pedro Porro Defender 22 Sporting Lisbon 1/0
Sergio Ramos Defender 35 Paris Saint-Germain 180/23
Sergio Reguilon Defender 25 Tottenham 6/0
Rodri Midfielder 25 Manchester City 30/1
Abel Ruiz Forward 22 Braga 2/0
Fabian Ruiz Midfielder 25 Napoli 15/1
Pablo Sarabia Midfielder 29 Sporting Lisbon 16/5
Unai Simon Goalkeeper 24 Athletic Bilbao 20/0
Carlos Soler Midfielder 25 Valencia 4/2
Ferran Torres Forward 22 Barcelona 22/12
Pau Torres Defender 25 Villarreal 16/1
Adama Traore Winger 26 Barcelona 8/0

Who is Spain's head coach?

After a successful career as a player, Luis Enrique has managed major clubs such as Barcelona and Roma, and he is currently in his second spell in charge of Spain. He took over again in November 2019 having previously left for personal reasons. Enrique is known for preferring quick transitions from defense to attack.

  • Manager (Nationality): Luis Enrique (Spanish)
  • Date hired: November 19th, 2019 (Initially July 9th, 2018)
  • Record as national team manager (W-L-D): 19-10-5
  • Major titles since hire: None

Notable victories: 5-0 v Slovakia (Euro 2020), 5-3 v Croatia (Euro 2020), 3-1 on penalties v Switzerland after 1-1 draw (Euro 2020).

Spain World Cup qualifying results

Spain qualified comfortably for the World Cup as they finished top of qualifying Group B, four points ahead of their closest challengers Sweden.

Date Opponent H/A Result Score
March 25th, 2021 Greece H D 1-1
March 28th  Georgia A W 2-1
March 31st Kosovo H W 3-1
September 2nd Sweden A L 1-2
September 5th Georgia H W 4-0
September 8th Kosovo A W 2-0
November 11th Greece A W 1-0
November 14th Sweden H W 1-0


Spain World Cup Qualifying Leaders

Category Leader Total
Goals Ferran Torres 4
Assists Jordi Alba 4
Appearances Unai Simon  8
Minutes Unai Simon 720


Spain FIFA World Cup history

Spain won the World Cup for the first time in their history in 2010, with their previous best finish coming in 1950, when they were fourth.

  • World Cups appearances: 14
  • Best finish: Winners (2010)
  • All-time goals scored: 99
  • All-time goals conceded: 72
  • All-time record (W-L-D): 30-18-15
Year Stage Reached Eliminated By W-L-D
1934 Quarter-finals Italy 1-1-1
1950 Fourth place N/A (Final round) 3-2-1
1962 Group stage N/A  1-2-0
1966 Group stage N/A 1-2-0
1978 Group stage N/A 1-1-1
1982* Second group stage N/A 1-2-2
1986 Quarter-finals Belgium 3-1-1
1990 Group stage N/A 2-1-1
1994 Quarter-finals Italy 2-1-2
1998 Group stage N/A 1-1-1
2002 Quarter-finals South Korea 3-0-2
2006 Round of 16 France 3-1-0
2010 Champions N/A 6-1-0
2014 Group stage N/A 1-2-0
2018 Round of 16 Russia 1-0-3

*Host

Sean Markus Clifford

Jeorge Bird