Julen Lopetegui hails 'brilliant' Spain

Spain manager Julen Lopetegui has heaped praise on his side for a 'brilliant' World Cup qualifying campaign.

La Roja dropped just two points from their 10 qualifiers to win Group G by a comfortable margin, a record only bettered by a faultless Germany ahead of a remaining handful of fixtures tonight.

Lopetegui replaced the retiring Vicente del Bosque last July and masterminded the qualifying campaign, which came to a close with a 1-0 victory in Israel last night.

"It was not an easy match," he told reporters afterwards. "In the first half we were not able to attack as much as we would like against a team that was very motivated. However, in the second half we found the answers, even though we were already through [to Russia] before this match.

"We played brilliantly in qualifying. Our goal difference is fantastic, but whether or not we are seeded depends on third-party results."

Spain will discover if they will be placed in Pot 1 or Pot 2 for the World Cup draw when the next set of FIFA rankings are released on October 16.