World and European champion in title, Spain is however far from having the best odds at the approach of the 2023 World Cup. It is only with the packages of Ricky Rubio, Lorenzo Brown and perhaps being Alberto Diaz, La Roja finds himself very weak on the “backcourt”, without any real experienced conductor to organize his attack.
“I will be very honest and very transparent. I don’t want this to be misunderstood, but I don’t think we’re going to win another World Cup.”, outright assures Rudy Fernandez to AS.
But the captain of the selection recalls that he did not think his team capable of winning the Euro either…
“We will work for that, of course. Last summer, I didn’t think we were going to win the Euros either. But it happened, like in 2019. The pieces fit together and, in the end, there are opportunities in sport. And if you can grab them, you have a good chance of winning”continues the Real Madrid player.
With the Spanish gaming academy, and Sergio Scariolo at the helm, you can never completely rule out Spain. Even if the packages of Ricky Rubio and Lorenzo Brown may be difficult to compensate.
“Five Olympics isn’t bad either, isn’t it? »
“At EuroBasket, we saw that nobody made us favorites and that we played better every game. In this World Cup we have some big withdrawals and we have to see what our mistakes are and correct them. We are told that we can be in the top five teams in the World Cup. It’s not so bad if you look at the teams: France, Germany, Canada, the United States or Slovenia”.
Integrating the Top 5 of the competition would also undoubtedly allow Spain to qualify for the next Olympic Games in Paris. There are indeed two tickets at stake for Europe at the World Cup, with France already qualified for the Olympics as host country…
Rudy Fernandez, 38, who made his Olympic Games debut in 2004, could take part in his sixth Olympic Games if Spain gets his ticket to Paris. It would be a record.
“It will be done if I feel fit. If the coach thinks I belong, I’ll be happy and I’ll try to fight for it. And I will work all year with Real Madrid to get a place. But if that doesn’t happen, I’ll still have a job, and damn it, five Olympics isn’t bad either, right? »
