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One reason every team at the World Cup can win

By Ty Finch

MOSCOW, RUSSIA DECEMBER 1, 2017: Winner's trophy at the Final Draw for 2018 FIFA World Cup at the State Kremlin Palace. Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS (Photo by Stanislav Krasilnikov\TASS via Getty Images)
MOSCOW, RUSSIA DECEMBER 1, 2017: Winner's trophy at the Final Draw for 2018 FIFA World Cup at the State Kremlin Palace. Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS (Photo by Stanislav Krasilnikov\TASS via Getty Images) /
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MADRID, SPAIN – MARCH 27: Isco of Spain celebrates after scoring his sides third goal during the International Friendly between Spain and Argentina at Wanda Metropolitano on March 27, 2018 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
MADRID, SPAIN – MARCH 27: Isco of Spain celebrates after scoring his sides third goal during the International Friendly between Spain and Argentina at Wanda Metropolitano on March 27, 2018 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images) /

Spain: Out with the old, mostly

Imagine you were the best chef in the world. Your dishes have won major awards for the past five years, and reservations to your restaurant take just as long to get. Other equally famous chefs and taste testers have all tried your best dishes and find them incomparable.

Now, imagine that Gordon Ramsay, the latest and most famous restaurateur and chef to ingest the best dishes in the world, comes into your establishment and dines out for the evening. He has an awful experience, picks apart you and every one of your creations to pieces and leaves in a huff. Later, he finds out he acquired food poisoning from your most famous dish.

That’s how Spain felt at the 2014 World Cup.

Spain were the best team in the world, bar none, for a stretch from 2008 to 2012. They won the 2008 Euros, 2010 World Cup and the 2012 Euros in consecutive tries.

But every run must come to an end at some point. After the absolute debacle at the 2014 World Cup, and not fairing well at the subsequent 2016 Euro’s, Vicente del Bosque stepped down as manager, and, as a result, some of the older players fell out of favor.

Spain still have some of the best players in the world, and have now injected some much-needed youth into their system, as they should’ve done in 2014. Names like David de Gea, Koke and Isco are now entrenched into their lineup instead of the old guard, i.e., Iker Cassillas, Xavi, Xabi Alonso and David Villa. This injection of absurdly talented youth, combined with the maturity and know-how of veterans such as Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos and Andres Iniesta, should give Spain enough firepower to make a long run in 2018.

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