Italian Coach, Antonio Conte, assures that Spain remains one of the strongest teams in the world despite the failure of the past World Cup in Brazil.

"It is a very, very strong squad. It continues to be one of the greatest teams in the world. We have great respect for them," Conte said to Efe after the draw for the qualifying phase of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where Spain and Italy were paired in Group G.

After downplaying the elimination of the team coached by Vicente del Bosque in the first phase of Brazil 2014, Conte pointed out that "this is a team that has done extraordinary things in recent years."

However, he rejected the word "difficult" to define the group that was drawn for the 'azzurri' and preferred to describe it as "stimulating." "It will be a great motivation," he emphasized, and acknowledged that the team that won the World Cup in 2010 is currently in the process of building "something new."