World Cup: Never stop trying, Enrique urges Spain

DOHA – Many of Spain’s players believe their coach Luis Enrique is a superb motivator and the 52-year-old showed what he was all about ahead of Sunday’s big World Cup Group E clash against Germany.

The Spaniards began their bid for a second World Cup crown with a

7-0 demolition of Costa Rica

on Wednesday but Enrique urged against complacency, adding that his players have to “keep trying” until they get their hands on the trophy.

“You look at Germany and see a shirt with four stars. We don’t forget that,” he said on Saturday.

“Without a doubt, they are the team that is most similar to Spain in terms of dominating the play and controlling it. I think it will be an open game.

“I tell the players, ‘We depend on you trying! You have to keep trying!’

“There were mistakes against Costa Rica. I don’t mind a pass missed but I do not forgive players out of position and forgetting their responsibilities.

“We will aim to dominate (against Germany), we will be ourselves. If that is enough to win, great. If not, we will congratulate the rivals. We will play as if we were in the last 16, as a win will take us to the next round.”

A win will see Spain through to the last 16 if Costa Rica fail to beat Japan on Sunday. The Japanese

stunned Germany 2-1

and trail Spain only on goal difference.

Winger Marco Asensio, who scored the second goal against Costa Rica, is confident that Spain will avoid falling into the trap of overconfidence against Germany.

“We have to stay on this path, playing in this way,” he said.

“It gives us a lot of confidence for what’s to come and we want to keep going like this. We won’t get overconfident because the coach won’t let us.”

Enrique played Asensio through the middle against Costa Rica, with the squad’s only natural central striker, Alvaro Morata, confined to a substitute role.

“From the first day, the coach told me that I could play in various positions,” said Asensio. “The No. 9 is a position where you have to be in the right place, you have to have your space, because we play as a team.’‘

Spain’s emphatic victory was their biggest triumph at a World Cup and Asensio, like his teammates, believes Enrique is the right person to motivate the team.

“It’s a mix of the experience that he has from his playing days and that he knows really well how to get his message across to the players,” added the 26-year-old. “We like what he tells us, he convinces us, and that makes us all row in the same direction and compete the very best we can.” AFP, REUTERS