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De la Fuente: "We got what we were looking for today"

The national coach comments that tonight their ‘big rival, with all due respect to Andorra, but was ourselves,to keep demanding more from ourselves’
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Thu, 06/06/2024 - 00:49

Luis de la Fuente appeared in the press room of the Nuevo Vivero stadium in Badajoz satisfied with what he had seen on the pitch. He was particularly pleased with the character of the players and for having achieved their targets for the evening: ‘We have achieved what we were looking for, which was to adapt to a competitive rhythm; our opponent, with all due respect to Andorra, was ourselves, to keep demanding more from ourselves until the end’, he explained. 

 

The national coach responded in relation to the cuts he will have to make to his squad before travelling to the European Championships in Germany. ‘It gives me doubts because any of the 29 who are here are capable of being at the next big event’. But making the tough call, he says, does not give him a ‘headache’: ‘They all offer me total and absolute guarantees; I welcome the performance of the debutants (Ayoze and Fermín), and it gives me peace of mind because I know that, whoever I choose, they are going to be very good players’.

In relation to Oyarzabal's hat-trick, De la Fuente wanted to highlight the very high level of all the strikers in the Spanish national team. ‘You don't know when a good run starts and ends, but these players, when they are in the national team, are always on a good run’, he told the media.

 

With all this, and when asked repeatedly about the which players would be left behind, Luis de la Fuente was clear: ‘This isn't about doing it on a whim or in a way to surprise people; what we are looking for is balance and to see different options that can occur in a game at the European Championships... To guarantee we have them all covered".

The coach from Haro insisted: ‘We have many alternatives, the decision we make will be very well thought out and analysed, weighing up all the scenarios; it's not about surprises but about having success in the future’, and his final answer to that same question was to highlight the value of the team as a whole, saying ‘It's our greatest strength’.

 

There was also no lack of debate among the press about goalkeeping situation either, and De La Fuente straight batted the questions: ‘We have three top goalkeepers, with safe pairs of hands, and my only regret is that I don't have game time to give them all their chance; but they are taking this very naturally and with great camaraderie’, he stressed.

 

Watch the complete press conference again

 

RELATED INFROMATION: Match report