On 27 November, football fans around the world will be treated to a real marquee match-up when 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ champions Spain take on Germany, who took their trophy in 2014. Both sides struggled to defend those global crowns. We review their recent highs and lows.

On 11 July 2010, shortly before 11 pm, Andres Iniesta wrote his name in Spanish footballing history. His goal in the 115th minute in the final against the Netherlands saw La Roja win the World Cup for the first time. Prior to that, Spain had never even made it beyond the quarter-finals, but in South Africa their tiki-taka brand of football saw them rule the world.

Four years later in Brazil, Spain were out to defend their title, a feat that only Italy (1938) and Brazil (1962) had managed to achieve. They travelled to South America brimming with confidence, but pride came before a fall. The reigning champions lost their opening match against the Netherlands 5-1 and then their second group game against Chile. A win over Australia on the final matchday was too little, too late, and Spain’s dream was over by the end of the group stage. The Germans had a far better time of it at that tournament. Their history-making 7-1 thrashing of Brazil in the semi-finals saw them head into the decider with fans around the world convinced that they already had the trophy in the bag. Lionel Messi’s Argentina had other ideas, and once again the final went into extra time. This time it was Mario Gotze who became the hero of a nation, scoring the winner in the 112th minute to give Germany a fourth star to add to their jerseys.

As Spain had found out before them, however, Germany soon realised that the bigger you are, the harder you fall. They too went out in the group stage of the next World Cup, throwing up plenty of tough questions and more than a little resentment around the country. And now here we are in 2022. Spain have had eight years to come to terms with their failed attempt at defending their title, while Germany have had four to get over their shock exit in 2018. Both teams have been busy in the intervening period, which makes the fact that these two titans of the game have been drawn in the same group at Qatar 2022 even more intriguing.

“Let me be very clear; we’re going to carry on playing the same style of football. We can develop. The players just need to be given the right tools. The national team is there to set an example, and everyone has analysed the way we play. We’re going to maintain our possession-based game, tweak a few of the finer details and make some improvements." This was the promise made by Luis Enrique at his press conference when he took over as coach of La Roja after Russia 2018. In 2019, he relinquished the post due to personal reasons but then returned to the job at the end of the year. Since his comeback, Spain have been on the up. After successfully qualifying for UEFA EURO 2020, they made it through to the semi-finals before coming up just short against eventual champions Italy on penalties. Spain's recent success is not all down to their talented 51-year-old coach, however. Over the past few years, the team has brought through a generation of talented young players who have had a significant effect on the Spanish game. Luis Enrique is never shy of giving promising newcomers the playing time and responsibility they need to develop, regardless of their experience or lack thereof. This show of faith has certainly been repaid by his squad. 29 The number of players to have made their debut already for Spain under coach Luis Enrique. This list includes the likes of Torres, Ansu Fati, Pedri, Unai Simon, Yeremy, Carlos Soler, Brian Gil and Gavi.

A possession-dominated style of play can also be attributed to another team, namely Germany. Hansi Flick took over the coaching reins from Joachim Low last year, having been one of the latter’s assistants during the 2014 run to the title. When Flick was given the top job, he set out similar targets to Enrique, saying: “Around the world, people have admired Germany’s possession-based football for a long time. It's important for us to show initiative as well, though, and to maintain possession, even if we are looking to score goals as quickly as possible.” The results speak for themselves, with Germany having won eight and drawn one of their nine matches under Flick, who remains unbeaten. The 57-year-old is fortunate to be able to benefit from a pair of experienced leaders in Thomas Muller and Manuel Neuer, who have racked up over 100 caps for their country, as well as young talents like Kai Havertz and Jamal Musiala. Again, Flick seems to be singing from the same hymn sheet as Enrique when he says: “The young players are the future, but our main advantage is that our best players already play for their country at senior level.”

6 The number of players who have made their Germany debuts since Hansi Flick took over as coach in August 2021, including Nico Schlotterbeck and David Raum.

The recipe for success seems to be a similar one for both teams: old hands like Cesar Azpilicueta, Dani Carvajal, Neuer and Muller to provide the necessary experience, allied with youngsters like Pedri, Torres, Musiala and Havertz to add that spark of genius to possession-based football. Only one question remains: who will emerge victorious at Al Bayt Stadium on 27 November?