The Spanish team: Coach Enrique was sacked.

"The sports department of the Federation has just sent a report to the President, which determines that the national team needs to start a new sports project, in order to continue the momentum of development over the years. President Luis Rubiales and Sports Director Jose Molina informed the coach of this decision," the RFEF announcement at noon on December 8, Madrid time, wrote.

The RFEF then thanked Enrique and his partners for their contributions to the Spain team and wished him every success in the future.

Coach Luis Enrique was officially fired by RFEF.

According to Marca, the RFEF's decision also puts an end to the rejuvenation strategy and ball-control style that Enrique orientated for the national team because Spain could not win any major titles under his leadership.

Before being kicked out of the 2022 World Cup by Morocco in the penalty shootout in the round of 16, Spain also had to stop in the semi-finals of Euro 2020 and finished second in the Nations League 2021.

When making the final list for the 2022 World Cup, Enrique’s decision created controversy because he ignored many veteran faces who were in good form at the club level at that time, such as Sergio Ramos (PSG), Thiago Alcantara (Liverpool), and Rodrigo (Leeds). He put his faith in Pedri, Gavi, Ansu Fati, Balde, and Nico. They are all Spanish young talents between the ages of 18 and 20.

Gavi and Pedri are two of the young Spanish talents competing in Qatar.

The reality in Qatar showed that the young players whom Enrique brought to Qatar are all immature and they could not improve Spain’s playing style as fans expected. Spain only played well in the opening match against Costa Rica, where they defeated the South American representative with a score of 7-0. Then, they gradually declined with the German 1-1 draw, lost 1-2 to Japan, and were only to advance from the group stage due to the sub-index.

The style of possession that Spain palyed under Enrique was also said to be no longer suitable in football nowadays. In the round of 16, the team had 77% possession of the ball, completed 13 shots—twice as many as Morocco—but just one of those shots was on target, then La Roja lost 0-3 in the penalty shootout. Before that, in the match against Japan, coach Enrique’s team even held the ball up to 83% of the time but had to witness Japan’s incredible comeback in the first three minutes of the second half.

Coach Enrique and the Spanish team had a forgettable World Cup.

Enrique took over the Spanish team to replace his former teammate Fernando Hierro after losing in the round of 16 of the 2018 World Cup. But a year later, he temporarily left his position to be with Xanita - his daughter who was found to have bone cancer in March 2019 and died five months later. Enrique returned to his role from mid-November 2019 until being fired today.

Through two periods, Enrique led Spain in all 47 matches, but only won 26, reached 63.1%, drew 14, and lost 7 matches.

After the sacking of Enrique, the RFEF will start a search process in order to appoint a new coach.

There are currently 4 candidates for this position, including Roberto Martinez - who has just resigned as Belgium coach after the 2022 World Cup. Marcelino Garcia Toral - who is free after resigning as Athletic Bilbao coach in the summer of 2022 is also on the list. The former coach of Real, Liverpool and Inter, Rafa Benitez, and Spain U23 coach Luis de la Fuente, are two other names. Of these, Martinez received the greatest support from the Spanish team's fans, with 38% of the 86,840 votes in favor according to a survey organized by Marca.