Brazilian midfielder Paulinho, on Wednesday, said that the Spanish national team remains one of the favorites to win the 2018 FIFA World Cup despite the abrupt firing of Coach Julen Lopetegui.
Brazilian midfielder Paulinho, on Wednesday, said that the Spanish national team remains one of the favorites to win the 2018 FIFA World Cup despite the abrupt firing of Coach Julen Lopetegui.
The 29-year-old Barcelona player spoke to reporters in Sochi, Brazil's base during the World Cup. "There has been much talk about the coach's departure, I'm not going to get mixed up in that matter, but Spain will always be a serious candidate to conquer the World Cup in Russia," Paulinho said.
The 2018 title will be "very contested," he said, ranking his Brazil side among the favorites and saying that he also liked the chances of Germany, France, Belgium, and Argentina.
Meanwhile, French forward Kylian Mbappe also suggested the same thing. He said Spain will compete at the 2018 World Cup with the same ambition despite the dismissal of La Roja's head coach, Julen Lopetegui.
Mbappe stressed that Spain has the same competitive players with the same ambition to win under new coach Fernando Hierro.
The Paris Saint-Germain star stressed that Spain is still one of the three favorites to win the World Cup, along with Brazil and defending champion Germany.
As for his French national team, Mbappe said that it is "one step below" the trio of favorites, but he insisted that there are other teams that can make a surprise run in the World Cup.
Spain is to compete in Group B along with Portugal, Morocco and Iran, while France is in Group C with Australia, Peru and Denmark and will kick off its World Cup run against the Australians on June 16.
The opening encounter of FIFA World Cup 2018 is scheduled to be played between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia, on Thursday. While, this encounter is hardly any ideal match for an opening match, the following group matches are more competitive and interesting.
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