European Football Championship: Spain’s self-confidence is hard to beat

European Football Championship Spain’s self-confidence is hard to beat

Spaniard Nico Williams is confidently heading into the knockout phase of the European Football Championship. Photo

© Manu Fernandez/AP/dpa

Spain could be Germany’s opponent in the European Championship quarter-finals. Before that, the Furia Roja must send outsiders Georgia home. No one seems to have any doubts about that for the title contender.

The title favorite, who has been playing strongly so far, is up against the European Championship debutant and the biggest underdog. The distribution of roles ahead of the European Championship round of 16 match between Spain and Georgia on Sunday (9 p.m./ARD and MagentaTV) in Cologne couldn’t be clearer – but the fall for the Furia Roja couldn’t be any greater if things go wrong. Nobody wants to know anything about that when it comes to Germany’s possible quarter-final opponent. The Spaniards’ self-confidence in the team camp in Donaueschingen is undisguised.

“I haven’t seen anyone play better. As a team, there is no one better than us,” said young star Nico Williams in an interview with the portal “Marca.” “Nobody believes in us more than we do,” said striker Ferrán Torres.

Coach Luis de la Fuente must now prove in the knockout rounds that he can start a new era with the 2010 world champions and three-time European champions. The 63-year-old has worked rather inconspicuously so far, but extremely effectively. And of course he expressed “the utmost respect for this rival, who is playing a great tournament. That’s why we have to do our best to win this game and advance.”

Road to the final for Spain “full of traps”

The road to the final on July 14 in Berlin, with France or Portugal as possible opponents in the semi-finals, is “full of traps,” warned the portal “Marca.” On the one hand, Spain played through the preliminary round without conceding a goal and has two world-class stabilizers in the form of experienced players such as Rodri and Dani Carvajal. At the same time, the young wingers Lamine Yamal (16) and Williams (21) are impressing all the experts.

“We have the best team in the world,” said Real Madrid striker Joselu. On the other hand, Spain also stood out for their waste of chances: in the 1-0 win against Italy they benefited from an own goal, and in the 1-0 win against Albania the B team missed a lot.

De la Fuente has now given all the professionals except the third goalkeeper a chance to play. This has minimized dissatisfaction – but has also increased desire. Leipzig’s Dani Olmo, who was so conspicuous against Albania, and goalscorer Torres (20 goals in 44 international matches) are hoping to be in the starting eleven. However, the duo will probably have to make way for Barcelona aces Pedri and Yamal again.

Not just Tiki-Taka anymore

De la Fuente has so far kept the atmosphere calm at the Nations League winners. “The players are doing very well,” he praised, and said with a view to the rest of the tournament: “Being the favorite is no guarantee of anything. We have to be cautious. We have high hopes, but we are keeping both feet on the ground.”

The ex-professional has long since taught his players effective offensive pressing and straightforward attacking play, and he can also build on his own tournament experience. De la Fuente was European champion with the U21s in 2019 and won Olympic silver in Tokyo in 2021. At the end of 2022, he replaced Luis Enrique as coach of the “Absoluta”, as the senior national team is called. The team was eliminated in the round of 16 by Morocco at the World Cup in Qatar.

Georgians confident

De la Fuente and his colleague Willy Sagnol had already met in the European Championship qualification – the Spaniards defeated the Georgians 7-1 and 3-1, who qualified for the tournament via the Nations League and thrilled their entire country with a 2-0 win against Portugal.

“Spain is perhaps the best team in the group stage,” said former Bayern player Sagnol after the coup against Portugal. “It will be a huge challenge for us – maybe too big? I don’t know, but we will fight until the last minute.” For Georgia’s football hero Khvisha Kwarachelia, it doesn’t matter “whether it’s Spain or Portugal: we respect everyone, but we will be there to win.”

dpa

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