Doha, Nov 30 (EFE).- Spain coach Luis Enrique on Wednesday insisted his players would be aiming to beat Japan and top Group E amid questions about whether La Roja will try to come second to secure an easier opponent in the round of 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spain take on the Samurai Blue on Thursday knowing that a win would see them finish in first, while a draw would guarantee them second place \u2013 unless Costa Rica upset Germany in the group’s other match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If they reach the next round, Spain will face one of the top two placed teams from Group F, which contains Croatia, Belgium, Morocco and the already-eliminated Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen you are convinced that your team is really good, and that we want to win 7 matches, it’s not about coming in second place,\u201d Enrique told a press conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe want to finish in first place \u2013 first. That would mean playing whichever team finishes in second in group F.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enrique said that he understood that \u201csome might be thinking \u2018OK let\u2019s finish second so that we have an easier draw\u2019 \u2013 easier? In football? We will do our homework, we want to qualify as group winners, because that would mean that we have been better than the other teams, and later, we\u2019ll face whoever we have to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo win the World Cup you have to beat all of the teams that you face, no? That\u2019s our objective,\u201d he said. EFE<\/p>\n\n\n\n
spo\/ks<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"