Spain’s Mikel Merino suggested on Wednesday that Croatia have “undoubtedly one of the best midfields in Europe,” and opponents “never know where the game is going” as a result.
“There is a lot of quality in their players and much of their football goes through the midfield,” Merino commented.
“You never know where the game is going, the details matter. We already saw in the Nations League that if they control the tempo of the game, they make you suffer.”
The Vatreni will face Spain on Saturday in the opening match of their respective EURO2024 campaigns, and Merino assured reporters on Wednesday that confidence in the Spanish camp is high.
“I feel calm, because I think the team is ready,” insisted the Real Sociedad midfielder, addressing the media from the la Roja training camp in Donaueschingen, Baden-Württemberg.
Embed from Getty Images“We have a winning mentality – that’s the biggest of the pressures [we face],” he continued, emphasising that “the one [pressure] that matters most to us is our own, not feeling happy with your own job and I think that’s a good thing.”
The 27-year-old midfielder, who previously plied his trade in the Bundesliga for Borussia Dortmund, also took the opportunity to praise Spain’s head coach, Luis de la Fuente, and described him as “a very good person.”
“When it comes to making decisions, you always understand them. He’s someone we all trust, and it’s a joy to have him as a coach.”
“He asks us all for the same thing… to have a good group, to have good cohesion and good attitudes in training and to accept the role you’re given at any moment. [He expects] that we’re a united team, that we respect each other and work side by side.”
“In this type of tournament, that’s worth more than the individual [performances],” Merino noted, insisting that “if we lose, we’ll have given 100%.”
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