The only positive note from Spain’s elimination against Morocco is that Xavi will recover most of the squad ahead of schedule. He can start preparing for the rest of the season.
The Spanish players will return to work in Sant Joan Despí on December 16th, along with Lewandowski. Therefore, they will have nine days off after the World Cup experience. However, the coach warned that the psychological aspect is also a determining factor.
Now he will have to work to mentally recover some footballers who will surely return emotionally ‘hurt’ after the World Cup KO.
17 Barça players started the tournament In Qatar. Now there are only five left in competition. Therefore, twelve of them will be placed under Xavi’s command in the coming days. Christensen and Ter Stegen perhaps a little earlier. For now there are no injuries within our players.
The players that already left Qatar
Prior to Spain’s defeat against Morocco, Lewandowski, Ter Stegen, Christensen and Araujo already returned from the World Cup, after the eliminations of Poland, Germany, Denmark and Uruguay. The goalkeeper and the Uruguayan did not play a single minute. Meanwhile, the Pole scored two goals and fell in the round of 16 against France, while the Dane did not make it past the first phase and also scored a goal in that group.
Araujo already reincorporated the training sessions, without rest, to follow his recovery process and put himself in the hands of the doctors and physiotherapists of the Barça club.
He did not get to play with Uruguay, despite the tension and the controversies with Barça. Therefore, now Barça will manage the final stretch of the Uruguayan’s recovery.
Though the Spanish national team players will be back in Barcelona today, Xavi will give them a few days off.
“They will have to rest physically and also mentally,” said the technician at the presentation of its Campus at Banco de Santander the day the World Cup began.
‘Mini preseason’
Thanks to the early elimination from Spain, in which there were eight azulgrana called up, Xavi will now have enough days to resume work and calmly prepare for the derby against Espanyol that will close the year and will be played on December 31
Eric Garcia is the only one of the Spanish who didn’t play a single minute in the World Cup. Busquets, Pedri and Gavi have always been starters and in which Ferran Torres and Jordi Alba have also formed part of Luis Enrique’s backbone.
Balde and Ansu, for their part, have had a leading role coming off the bench. Furthermore, the full-back even played against Japan as a starter. They are back, emotionally touched, but physically fit.
