Spain’s Sergio Busquets: Match Against Morocco Will be 'Very Difficult'

Spanish football player and captain of the national team Sergio Busquets indicated that his squad’s upcoming World Cup game against Morocco’s Atlas Lions “is going to be very difficult,” UK Sports reported.

Rabat – Spanish football player and captain of the national team Sergio Busquets indicated that his squad’s upcoming World Cup game against Morocco’s Atlas Lions “is going to be very difficult,” UK Sports reported.

After groups F and E’s fixtures concluded on Thursday, Group F winner Morocco and Group E runners-up Spain will lock horns in the World Cup’s round of 16. The game will take place on December 6, at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar.

According to UK Sports, Busquets denied speculations suggesting that the European team was relieved for finishing second in Group E, resulting in them being paired with Morocco, instead of last tournament’s finalist Croatia.

“We wanted to win and be first. We go to the other side of the bracket, but that does not guarantee that it will be easier or more difficult,” the 34-year-old player stressed.

Japan topped Group E after beating Spain 2-1 in the two teams’ last group stage game last night.

“We didn’t want this to happen, our intention was to win [against Japan] … To continue, we have the round of 16 against Morocco, which is going to be a very difficult match” Busquets added.

He described Spain’s defeat against Japan as a “shame,” and stressed the need for the European squad to improve and “correct the mistakes” ahead of their upcoming game with the Atlas Lions.

The ongoing global tournament has so far been full of surprises, starting with Saudi Arabia’s shock 2-1 win against Argentina.

In addition, the World Cup has seen some of the top-ranked football giants eliminated from the group stage. Germany on Thursday failed to advance beyond the group stage despite its 4-2 win over Costa Rica, as Japan and Spain led the group standings respectively.

One of the tournament’s early favorites, Belgium, which went into the Qatar World Cup ranked number two in the FIFA rankings, was similarly eliminated from the tournament’s group stage, after Morocco and Croatia finished first and second in Group F standings.