FRANCE-SPAIN: DE LA FUENTE ASSURES THAT THE ROJA IS THE “BEST” TEAM OF THE EURO… BUT IS WARY OF THE BLUES

Present at a press conference before the Euro 2024 semi-final between France and Spain (Tuesday, 9 p.m.), La Roja coach Luis de la Fuente repeated that his team was the “best”. Even if he wants to be wary before facing Les Bleus.

Although he hammered it home for a long time before the competition, Luis de la Fuente persists. The Spanish coach repeated this Monday in a press conference before the semi-final between France and Spain that his team was “the best”. A statement supported by his captain Rodri, who also appeared very confident, despite fears of the physical power of the Blues and Mbappé.

“For me, no matter what the result is tomorrow, this team is the best, even if we have a great team against us,” assures Luis de la Fuente. ” That’s what I thought before arriving at the Euro , now and until the final. Afterwards, it’s not because you have the best team that you win, it’s much more complicated than that.”

“We are where we wanted to be”

“It’s July 8 and we’re where we wanted to be when we started planning the competition. We’re here, I can just say that we’re very happy, satisfied but with the sporting ambition of wanting more. Against a great team of course, but no matter what happens tomorrow night, I’ll be happy. If not this time, we’ll have the opportunity to win something big,” he assures.

Their captain, Rodri, is also convinced of the capabilities of this Spanish team and even dares to answer when asked if his team suffers from comparisons with the golden generation of the 2010s: “This generation is golden today, but when the golden generation started, nobody knew what they would do. We want to build our own history.”

“Mbappé at 50% is as strong as any other player at 100%”

“We’re not afraid, we’re going there with the desire to show what we can do. We’ve shown that we can win against any rival,” assured the Manchester City midfielder. “We see a very vertical Spanish team, with very versatile players, who give us a lot of options. We’ve had several scenarios depending on the matches during this Euro and we’ve been able to adapt. Defend, come back in the score, increase the gap… Spain is a very complete team.”

Asked repeatedly about Mbappé’s potential revival, Luis de la Fuente wants to be cautious: “Maybe today he is only at 50% but at 50% he is as strong as another player at 100%. He is a star who can make the difference with one or two actions. We are not going to minimize his impact on the field.”

“My players are the best”

Rodri stresses: “In terms of his ability to make a difference, the best player is obviously Mbappé. But France is not just him, they are very solid defensively and very dangerous on the counterattack, so we don’t want to focus on him. I know the player he is and I know he can make a difference, whether he is good or bad. He is always a threat.”

When questioned, Luis de la Fuente added that between Kylian Mbappé and Nico Williams, he had made his choice: “They are two very great players. For me, my players are the best. Mbappé is exceptional, like all the players in France. But for me, my players are the best.”