Martín Zubimendi: “Our strength lies in how united we are as a group”
A place at the World Cup
“For now, I haven’t visualised myself playing at a World Cup. It may sound strange, but we still haven’t qualified. This competition has already shown us that even when everything goes perfectly, we still depend on other results. At the moment, I’m only imagining us securing qualification.”
The team’s secret?
“One of our main strengths is how united we are as a group. For the past couple of years we’ve had a very similar squad — a tight-knit unit that knows each other perfectly. That helps our football flow much better. It makes us stronger.”
Mikel Merino’s role
“His numbers are incredible. I’ve known him for a long time and I know how determined he is to improve. It’s clear he has made huge progress in front of goal, and it’s not luck — it’s hard work. He’s been polishing that aspect of his game for a long time.”
The opponent’s potential
“They have several players at very important clubs: Mamardashvili, Kvaratskhelia, Mikautadze… They’ve always made things difficult for us, and we need to focus more on their collective strength rather than on individuals. They’re a great team.”
Georgia’s playing style
“They try to play quickly after winning the ball back, and that caused us problems in the previous match. In some situations we didn’t manage it well, and it could have cost us. We need to stay very focused and precise throughout the entire match.”