World Cup matches are a good opportunity to meet famous football personalities. During the meeting between the Netherlands and the United States in the Round of 16 of the World Cup in Qatar, I was able to speak briefly with Guti – the legend of Real Madrid and former representative of the Spain, now an expert at beIN Sports. The former excellent midfielder openly pointed out the problems not only of the Polish national team, but also of Spain, who will face an interesting clash with Morocco.

RADOSŁAW PRZYBYSZ: Monday, the match between Morocco and Spain. Didn’t your compatriots try their luck by taking second place in the group and hitting one of the revelations of this World Cup?

GUTI: It will certainly not be an easy game for Spain. Morocco is a young, physically good and talented team. He likes to keep the ball, he likes to control the game and attack from position, just like Spain. It will certainly not be an easy journey for us.

This whole description also fits Luis Enrique’s team perfectly. And where are its weaknesses?

Probably inexperienced. Especially in attacking formations, there aren’t many players who have played in the World Cup before. The second thing is defensive play. Sometimes we play too boldly, exposing ourselves to quick attacks from rivals, which we are not always able to stop. However, it’s a whole team full of quality, especially in the second line.

Some say that in the last game against Japan, La Roja didn’t play 100%, preferring second place and potentially avoiding Brazil in the quarter-finals. What are you saying?

I do not believe. Every footballer wants to win, especially at the World Cup. What if you avoid Brazil when you meet another big rival like Portugal? I don’t believe in such motives, nor in the desire to eliminate the Germans from the tournament. You could see we were trying to make it 2-2, but Japan defended well and got lucky. There is nothing to say.

Alright, time to ask about the Polish national team…

You defend well, that’s for sure. But you attack too little, you keep the ball too short, you see Lewandowski too rarely with it. At Barcelona, ​​he’s an absolute key player and you don’t see him in the national team. He lacks support, there are hardly any other players around him and he has to work more in tackle than in attack.

France is not only the favorite of the match against Poland, but also of the whole championship?

Certainly one of the main ones, but see how balanced this World Cup is, how many surprises there are. Each of the paper favorites must keep their eyes peeled, as all it takes now is a weaker game to be knocked out. For me, there is no clear favorite. We talk a lot about Brazil, but I see four or five other candidates.

Who has made the biggest impression on you personally so far?

There are some impressive young players, but in the end the faces of this tournament are always the same. Kylian Mbappé does not come down from a high level, Cristiano Ronaldo is doing well too. It’s a bit different with Brazil who, without Neymar, rely more on the team than on individuals. But, to be honest, for now, I don’t see any big new discoveries from this World Cup.