Clearing up this mess no easy matter for Spain

It will either be the setback that brings Spain players closer than ever before, bound together by adversity; or it will be the moment their World Cup dream ended before it had even begun.

Those are the scenarios for one of the favourites to win the 2018 World Cup after coach Julen Lopetegui was sacked on the eve of the tournament for agreeing to become the next Real Madrid manager — without telling his national federation.

The announcement came just two days before Spain play in one of the toughest group games of the first stage in Russia, against European champions Portugal in Sochi, and has left Spanish supporters aghast and angry.