Thursday, November 14, 2024, 9:26 p.m.
Luis de la Fuente spoke this Thursday about the extraordinary achievements achieved by the Spanish team, while alluding to the challenges that await a team that never tires of winning in the future. What grade do you give to the year 2024? The coach was asked in the press conference prior to the duel against Denmark. «There is always room for improvement, but objectively it is very difficult to improve. Based on the data, it is very difficult to improve. Our idea is to end up winning these games and continue improving next year. The Nations League, qualification for the World Cup… There are impressive challenges, very attractive and very motivating,” he explained.
Nothing has stopped La Roja since De la Fuente took office, not even the injuries of such notable players as Rodrigo Hernández or Dani Carvajal, whose absences are seriously affecting the clubs in which they play but not the national team. De la Fuente believes that the reason is the large wardrobe he has at his disposal. «We are lucky to have great footballers. We have two or three players per position of a very high level. Having Pedro Porro, Mingueza, Martín Zubimendi, who knows what I think of him, or Merino is a luxury and a confidence that things are going well. “There are footballers to replace these very adverse situations that give us a guarantee,” analyzed Haro’s coach in a press conference that began an hour later than expected given that the team landed in Copenhagen an hour late, but which turned out to be placid
Perhaps the hottest issue that the Spanish coach had to respond to was the absence of Iñigo Martínez, who is performing at a high level with Barça but who was left off the list and was not included in the squad when it was necessary to look for a replacement for the injured Pau Torres since De la Fuente preferred Pau Cubarsí. «Others enter my plans and they are others that we want to count on. It’s so simple and without any slights. “We think about other players,” he explained about the absence of the Basque central defender.
He reassured about the state of Morata and Fabián, between cottons for the duel against Denmark, the first due to the blow to the head he suffered last week and the second due to a stomach virus. «They are fine. Álvaro has already trained almost without normality because we follow the protocol for these blows to the head. Fabián has had this gastric problem, he has not been able to train this morning but tomorrow if he is not there from the beginning, I hope he will be able to be in the squad,” said the coach.
Although a draw in Denmark would be enough for Spain to secure first place in the group, De la Fuente is not considering giving out minutes thinking about Monday’s duel against Switzerland. «Tomorrow is a very important game. We want to be first in the group and continue with the winning dynamic we have. We will bring out the best team to win tomorrow, we do not speculate, we do not think about the day after,” he said.
