Three-time European Championship winners Spain are hoping to go for title number four, but have a tough opening clash against Croatia– who they last beat in the 2023 Nations League Final. Spain feel this may be as equally as tough affair, with the two set to go head-to-head in Berlin at 17:00 BST [18:00 CEST] on June 14th.
What did Luis de la Fuente say?
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La Roja will be led into the tournament by Luis de la Fuente in what is his first major tournament. Though, he explained to the media that he isn’t feeling the pressure on his side, which was noticeable due to his calm demeanour in the conference auditorium.
“I am staying calm, I am feeling the sense of responsibility. We’ve been doing what we’ve always done,” he said, hinting at the quiet optimism around his side’s camp. “We want to transmit that confidence that we are capable of achieving something big. We are staying calm. I don’t need to change anything, because that would be bad at this stage.”
Not appearing to show any signs of nervousness or stress, at least externally, when asked what a good result would be for Spain this tournament, de la Fuente isn’t choosing to target a specific round. He focused his answer on how they navigate their way through teams in their style of play, and their fighting mentality.
“It’s about doing a good job, competing, and knowing we’re with some of the best teams in Europe, in the World… Sometimes in football you might win or lose without deserving it, but that can’t be controlled… We have to be committed to fight for something to be important. We want to reach the final, but so does everybody else.”
As expected, much of the build-up to this tournament has been about Spain’s wonderkid, Lamine Yamal. When asked about the 16-year-old, he couldn’t have praised him more highly.
“Managing the environment is more important that the footballing side. In Lamine Yamal’s case, he is a young boy with an incredible talent. It’s almost a gift from God – very few players have his talent,” de la Fuente claimed, though he feels that the Barcelona product still has a lot more to learn. “By being humble, he will develop so much more.”
While it is unclear whether Yamal will play a role in their opener against Croatia tomorrow, one player that has been ruled out is Aymeric Laporte due to picking up a knock.
“Aymeric Laporte could play tomorrow but we’re not going to risk him. He’s been training well over the last few days away from the squad. He’s doing everything we’ve asked of him,” the 62-year-old told reporters. “He’s doing well. He had a chance to play, but we will give him the extra time to make sure he’s ready for Thursday.
“He didn’t get injured, he’s just had some issues. I decided that we wouldn’t take the risk, so he isn’t going to play tomorrow. It’s a precautionary measure. He’s absolutely fine. He’s training well. He’s motivated. He’s one of the best players around in his position.”
What did Rodri say?
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Manchester City’s midfield talisman also addressed the media ahead of their first group stage fixture against Croatia. While he was coy to discuss their tournament aspirations, instead wanting to focus solely on the game at hand, he did allude to his belief that Spain are good enough to win the Henri Delaunay Trophy once again.
“Our main target is to compete. We’ve come here to win and to show that Spain are able to win the Euros again. We want to show we can compete from the first minute against a very demanding team tomorrow,” the 27-year-old told reporters. “We know that we’re here as one of the countries with the most European Championships, and we are here to go after our fourth… I don’t like thinking about the long-term. I want to ensure that we compete as a team, and that we win to ensure our confidence goes up.”
Looking to tomorrow’s fixtures, Rodri was sure to hand his club teammate Joško Gvardiol’s side their flowers.
“Croatia are a really competitive team who know how to manage the different phases of the game… they have experienced players and we have to be aware of that and play well to get a result,” the midfielder said, before citing them as a team with a plethora of good players who are cohesive, and not just a team full of individual names. “We’re looking at Croatia [as a team], we’re not looking at individual players. The only thing I’m worried about is how Croatia play and those that will be involved tomorrow, if they’re good, bad, dangerous, how we can hurt them, how they can hurt us.”
One name that of course came up was opposition skipper Luka Modrić who, turning 39-years-old in September, is making his final major tournament appearance for his country.
“Of course names like Luka Modrić come up [in team talks], and there is admiration for those players, but you’re not playing against the players, you’re playing against the team. Croatia have had three or four successful tournaments, so we’re facing a team with so much danger.”
Known for their tika-taka style of play in the past, this is a new era of Spanish football, with the young stars coming through the team such as the aforementioned Yamal, and Nico Williams, but Rodri knows that the team have to be able to be comfortable enough to switch their style up depending on their opponents.
“Every team is different and plays in different ways. It would be a mistake to feel that one style would lead to victory. You have to be able to adapt and change because there are times where you need one thing or another thing, so I think that’s the key.”
As it pertains to their next opponent in particular? Well, Rodri is set for a tight and challenging affair: “With facing a team that runs hard, and it’s hard to win the ball of them when they have it, I think it will be really intense. We need to win the ball back from them and hurt them when they lose the ball, especially. I hope we control the game tomorrow, but it’s all about having a style that leads to victory.”
For Spain, this is the first time they will meet Croatia since they beat them in the 2023 Nations League Final – albeit on penalties – but this is a brand new tournament, and anything can happen.
“Of course winning games gives you confidence and experience, which I think is the most important thing, but it doesn’t guarantee you’ll do it again,” Rodri iterated. “We have to keep working hard, as we did in the Nations League Final, which was really tough. It was 0-0 and we won on penalties, so they showed they are tough opponents. It’s true that we’ve beaten them many times, but it starts from zero again, tomorrow.”
You can follow full coverage of that fixture, and read what their opponents had to say, here on FromTheSpot.