Pablo Amo: ‘Hopefully we can be in Group E’.
The Spanish national team was represented by Pablo Amo at the draw for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, which was held this afternoon at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich (Switzerland). The national team assistant coach analysed the result: ‘It's a draw that is totally conditioned by what happens in March and that's why talking about hypotheticals about one group or another doesn't make sense at the moment’.
Fernando Llorente, World Cup winner with the Spanish national team, was one of the people chosen to take part in the draw.
Spain face the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Nations League in March and the result of this two-legged tie will define the path to the 2026 World Cup. ‘The best way to face what's coming is to prepare as well as possible against the Netherlands and that's what we're thinking about. We want to be in the Final Four in June and that means two very difficult games against the Dutch,’ said the Madrid based coach.
If the national team wins, they will be drawn in Group E (of four teams) and will face Turkey, Georgia and Bulgaria in a qualifying phase that will begin in September 2025 and end in November of the same year.
If Spain fail to progress from the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals, they will be drawn in group G (five-teams) with Poland, Finland, Lithuania and Malta. The qualifying phase will take place between June and November 2025.
Spain are aiming to retain the continental title they won in Rotterdam in 2023 and are looking forward to their next objectives: Hopefully, we can be in Group E. That's the only conclusion we can draw for the moment.