Lopetegui maintains focus on Monday's World Cup debut against Liechtenstein

New Spain coach Julen Lopetegui on Thursday saw how his reign got off to a positive start on Thursday thanks to a 2-0 win in Belgium, but the man who replaced Vicente del Bosque over the summer has no time to enjoy the triumph as Spain kick off their campaign for the 2018 World Cup finals in Leon against Liechtenstein on Monday.

Although Liechtenstein should be relatively straightforward rivals for Spain, tougher games lie ahead.

"I think we played really well against Belgium, who hadn't lost for three years at home, but that is history now as we have the important game," said Lopetegui in an interview with sports paper Marca on Sunday.

"I am not thinking about any other side that Liechtenstein, because we have to focus on getting the three points and forget the last game," he said, insisting that his players would not underestimate their rival despite the huge difference in class.

"Liechtenstein are a tremendously honorable side, who are well prepared physically and tactically and will make things as hard as possible for us in every way. I expect a game where they get a lot of players behind the ball," explained the Spain coach.

Lopetegui admitted fans probably expect to see a lot of goals, but insisted he "could not control what people expect. We will focus on what every moment of the game asks of us in order to play well and achieve our aims."

Spain's next games will be tougher as October sees them travel to face Italy and Albania in what could be vital matches for their World Cup future, but Lopetegui didn't want to think about that just yet.

"All that exists at the moment is the game against Liechtenstein. It's not a good idea to try and ride two horses at the same time, at the moment, we have this game and nothing else," he concluded. Endit