Luis de la Fuente: ‘The tie has to be settled in Valencia’.

After the end of the first leg of the Nations League quarter-final at the De Kuip stadium, Luis de la Fuente assessed the match in the press room. ‘It's always very difficult to win. Against an opponent like tightly contested. Their second goal hurt us a lot, but we were able to overcome it. We were up against a very strong opponent. The game could have gone either way, but we are satisfied with what we did. The match has to be settled in Valencia,’ said the national coach. 

‘We played twenty minutes of each half very well, but it's normal for them to have chances. That's what we expected. They are a very strong opponent, you only have to look at their results in the other qualifiers,’ explained the coach about the quarter-finals. 

The Spanish coach also praised the work of the national team: ‘With Morata's header we could also have made it 0-2. There is not much between the team and there were match situations that sometimes we could control and sometimes not. It is a tough tie and it's also going to be tough for us in Valencia. 

Regarding Huijsen's debut, ‘It's great news for Spanish football and the national team, to see a player making his debut so young. He has been able to withstand the pressure and I am delighted to add a player to our family,’ he enthused. 

Luis de la Fuente ended the press conference by announcing that Lazio player Mario Gila will join the team's training camp in Valencia. 

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