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Grimaldo: "It’s all or nothing now"

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Spain’s left-back is well aware of the expectations ahead of the last 16 of the European Championships, and he explains his friendship with Marc Cucurella: "Our position on the pitch is very well covered".

With the same direct determination that he shows on the pitch in every game, Alejandro Grimaldo was very candid with the assembled media this Friday during the press conference at the Donaueschingen Media Centre, two days before the last 16 of the European Championships.

"We have to go for the game from the first minute because we can't fail," said the Valencian, who played a great match against Albania, referring to Sunday's tie against the Georgians.

His spectacular season at Bayer Leverkusen has seen Grimaldo rise into one of the most outstanding left-backs in world football, a position he shares with his national team-mate Marc Cucurella, to whom he is linked by a solid, long-standing friendship.

Álex explained "we are friends. We get on very well and we have a very good relationship, despite the fact that we play the same position. I think the competition is healthy and we've both shown that the left-back position is very well covered. Whoever plays, we both want to help the team".

The squad will take all the help they can get going into the decisive knockout stages of a European Championship that "we've come here to win", as the Spanish left-back says: "This is the tournament I've been looking for. The group is incredible. We’re flying under the radar, but with very clear ideas of where we want to get to.

Names such as captain Álvaro Morata and full-back Dani Carvajal were mentioned during a press conference in which Grimaldo showed courage in the face of the enormous challenge that Spain have ahead of them, though always with a word of caution, saying "a month ago we supposedly weren't even candidates and now everyone says we are favourites, but that doesn't help", as he reminded journalists with his responses.