Lopetegui's advice to Gerard Pique ahead of the World Cup

Spain’s coach, Julen Lopetegui, has explained the plans he has for Gerard Pique, Barcelona’s central defender, ahead of this summer’s World Cup in Russia.

“I’m going to try and get him to produce great performances and after that we’ll see,” Lopetegui told Cadena COPE. “I want him to have a great World Cup.”  This was in response to Pique’s situation with Spain being questioned as the Barcelona defender plans to retire from international football after the World Cup in Russia.

Lopetegui also spoke about Andres Iniesta, who has just signed for Vissel Kobe, and said : “The most respectable way to deal with Andres is to treat him as he’s always been treated. He’s a vital player. I’m not going to shower him with praise at this moment as we need to concentrate on the competitiveness (in the squad).”

Finally, in relation to his World Cup squad being announced and the absence of Alvaro Morata, Lopetegui said he needed to make some big decisions over the last two months. “We had the feeling, not of injustice, but of uneasiness because he helped us a lot and deserves plenty of credit.” Lopetegui also indicated that some decisions weren’t made until the last moment. “I had some doubts about who to pick and finally reached a decision the night before. More than making the list but making sure it was a good list for Russia.”