“Be Champions? Why not?” – Spain star sends out confident message ahead of 2022 FIFA World Cup

Spain defender Aymeric Laporte made a confident claim regarding La Roja's chances of being crowned the champions ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Speaking to the media ahead of his team's opener against Costa Rica, the Manchester City centre-back said (via El Chiringuito TV):

"Be CHAMPIONS? And why NOT?"

Laporte will be playing his first FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He has made 16 appearances for La Roja in his career so far. He previously played for France until U21 level before shifting allegiance to Spain.

Spain are set to start their campaign against Costa Rica in Group E on November 23. They will also play Germany and Japan on November 27 and December 1, respectively.

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Spain coach Luis Enrique speaks ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup

Luis Enrique spoke ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup

Spain coach Luis Enrique spoke about various topics on his Twitch stream ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

He named his favorites for the tournament in Qatar, saying (via Barca Universal):

"Brazil, Argentine, France, Germany, Spain, England, Netherlands. Maybe Belgium. I’m not original. If Spain don’t win the World Cup, I would like Argentina to win it because of Messi. It would be unfair for Messi to retire without winning a World Cup. Same goes for Luis Suarez at Uruguay."

Enrique also spoke about the funniest player in his team, saying:

“Pedri, with his accent and the way he talks. Alba is making jokes all day long, but he always supports everyone. Ferran does the same as Pedri. Gavi also loves to make jokes. In the end, Busquets is the one who controls them.”

Enrique revealed that Gavi will wear the no. 9 jersey for the World Cup. While justifying the odd decision to let a midfielder wear a number typically reserved for strikers, Enrique said:

“I don’t decide on the selection of the shirt numbers. A list I made, ranging from the players who have played the most games for Spain to those who have played the least. Busquets was the first to pick.”

Enrique also spoke about the time he used to play video games on the PlayStation with other former Spanish players. He said:

“I used to play a lot of PlayStation with Ivan de la Pena and [Carles] Puyol. We took everything seriously…Ivan, Puyol and I would get together to have a few drinks and play video games."