In a post-match press conference this Sunday, after his men’s big win (4-1) against Georgia in the round of 16 of Euro 2024, Spanish coach Luis de la Fuente got a little carried away.
There was still room. Despite Georgia opening the scoring in the 18th minute (an own goal by Le Normand), Spain coach Luis de La Fuente assured in a post-match press conference on Sunday that his team had never doubted in this round of 16 of Euro 2024. The coach, in office since 2022, even estimated that the score of the match, 4-1, with goals from Rodri (39th) first, then Fabian Ruiz (51st), a gem from Nico Williams (75th) and finally Dani Olmo (83rd), could have been much harsher.
“We can’t control the match all the time. The opponents are good and can also score. But we knew how to keep a cool head and we created a lot of chances, we could have finished the match at 8-1 “, he judged
“We knew that the danger came from the counterattacks and the transitions but (before the goal) they had not shot once and they scored on an own goal,” said the coach of La Roja who believes that his men had “total control of the match, apart from a few minutes.”
A generous but “nervous” Yamal
“Each (match) situation makes us better because we learn from all situations,” he continued before once again emphasizing the calm shown by his men despite a difficult start.
Asked in particular about the significant number of opportunities wasted by Lamine Yamal, 16 years and 11 months, in this match and who has not yet opened his account in this Euro, De La Fuente acknowledged that he “could have been calmer at certain moments”.
“He played an excellent match but he can do even better (…) He has a lot of self-confidence but sometimes he takes risks when the match requires keeping the ball,” added the coach, who coached the under-19s (2013-2018) and the Espoirs (2018-2022).
“He is learning and gaining experience at a very young age and with very good players surrounding him,” he concluded.
