Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta has said that his team ‘achieved their target’ of reaching the knockout round of the 2018 World Cup despite struggling to find full flow in the group stages. La Roja collected five points from their three Group B matches to finish top of the section, with Monday’s 2-2 draw against Morocco seeing them finish above Iberian rivals Portugal.
Spain midfielder Isco has conceded that the 2010 world champions must improve in the knockout round, but Iniesta has insisted that simply progressing through the groups was the most important thing. “We have achieved our target, we have won the group and we are through to the next round,” Iniesta told reporters. “We have come out on top and that shows how much quality we have, even if we do not always reach our potential.” Spain, who went out in the group stages of the 2014 World Cup, will take on Group A runners-up Morocco in the last-16 stage of the competition on July 1.