Spain are looking to become one of the next teams to punch their ticket to the knockout stages of EURO2024 when they take on reigning champions Italy in their next Group B clash.
The two sides will meet in Gelsenkirchen, with the match kicking off at 20:00 BST [21:00 CEST] on June 20th with one team looking to break the tie of head-to-heads, where they have each won two a piece, and drawn three.
What did Luis de la Fuente say?
All eyes around the Spanish camp are firmly focused on their clash against current European champions Italy, with the winner set to qualify for the round of 16. Manager Luis de la Fuente’s message is clear: play to win.
“Without doubt we want to win; it’s all we’re thinking about. We go game by game, it’s a super-important game and we play every match to win. I wouldn’t know how to play any differently.”
Tournament football can be a long a tiresome affair, but de la Fuente has highlighted the positives of his team’s performances so far, though he notes the need for improvement as they progress into the European Championship with the level of opposition past the group stage continually getting stronger.
“It’s been positive so far but we need to always have room for improvement. We have to stay humble and keep competing. It’s not about one game, it’s a long race, and we know the potential France, Germany, Italy, Portugal have. We will keep working and working and working to try to improve.”
Embed from Getty ImagesBut, tomorrow, they will face Italy, who are looking to repeat as champions, though that doesn’t faze the boss, who doesn’t see too much of a quality disparity between the two sides, who appear to have a similar make-up in terms of team construction: “They’ve very similar to us; they changed their team recently, they’ve got some young players, and I love how competitive they are. They have great individuals and some very experienced players. It’s almost like looking in a mirror.”
Speaking about what sets his team apart from any opposition, though, de la Fuente alluded to the mentality of being ‘superior’ he has tried to instil in his players, as well as having adapted their philosophy with the evolution of football over recent years.
“In any circumstances, we try to be superior. We have different players to adapt to different circumstances; there is a philosophy, we have to control our football and our passing game, but football has changed. Transitions are faster and we try to attack in a faster way; we want to create a style that helps us win.”
A couple of elements of doubt coming into this clash were the health and fitness of both captain Álvaro Morata, and Rodri, but La Roja’s boss put to bed any worries, with all 26 players having trained since their last match, and all available to be selected.
Regarding Rodri in particular, de la Fuente said: “He’s super important for us. He’s fit and he’s in contention. The whole squad is training normally and everyone is available for tomorrow.”
His excitement for the upcoming game against Italy shone through, and he strongly believes that this level of competition so early on in the tournament will bode well for them as a challenge, and feels as though it is a match-up worthy of being in the final.
“They’re contenders in every international competition. Spain vs Italy is a classic game, it could very easily be the final. They have great players, a great coach, and a real football culture. They’re one of the great national teams.”
One of the standouts of their first match against Croatia was Fabián Ruiz. The 28-year-old, who plays his club football with Paris Saint-Germain, was the creator of the first goal of the contest and the scorer of the second, with his quick feet taking two defenders out of the game before he slashed the ball home.
Having been one of Spain’s unsung heroes, de la Fuente made sure to give him his flowers, and even went as far as to dub him as one of the ‘world class’ players in his squad:
“I’ve known him for years and I know how good he is. He’s a world star. He has amazing footballing potential. I can count on him, he’s one of us, and I would love him to get the recognition for that. We have some world-class players in Spain.”
What did Fabián Ruiz say?
The man of the hour, Fabián Ruiz, admitted that his team had considered what may lie ahead for them by the end of the tournament, with Spain’s aim firmly on lifting the trophy: “We’re in an incredible moment. We’re going to fight to try to win that trophy on July 14th, we’re working for that, we’re going to try but we will see how it goes.”
While England and France are joint favourites for the competition, Ruiz argues that Spain also have a ‘lot of potential’ to achieve great things: “I don’t know it we’re favourites but we have a lot of potential. There’s many great national teams here, it’s very difficult to win a tournament but we’ll try to do our best to reach that final.”
Having broken into the starting eleven on a regular basis at club level this season, Ruiz was asked about how similar both de la Fuente and Luis Enrique – head coach of PSG – are in terms of their style, where he took the opportunity to thank de la Fuente for trusting in him at international level.
“They’re very similar coaches; they like to keep possession and press high. I didn’t play much at first with Luis Enrique but I tried to improve and in the end I got back in the first XI. I played for Luis de la Fuente in Spain’s youth teams and I’m grateful to him for bringing me here. I hope we can do great things together.”
Embed from Getty ImagesWhile he garnered much of the plaudits in Matchday 1, another bright spark for Spain came in the form of 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, and Ruiz had admiration for the wonderkid: “We all know what a great player he is. He’s only 16 but he doesn’t show that on the pitch. He’s extremely direct, he’s so good one-on-one and he’s very important for us. He’s going to be a great option for us to try and win this game.”
Ruiz shared the same opinion about tomorrow’s opposition that his manager did, believing that it will be an ‘even game’, though he noted that Italy’s squad is now constructed around more of a possession-based system than perhaps ever before.
“They won the last Euro and we know what type of players they have. They compete in every tournament and we know the quality they have. It’s going to be an even game. They’re an intense, aggressive team with a lot of quality players and they like to have a lot of possession, maybe more so than in the past.
Finally, on what it means to the Spanish midfielder to represent his country on this stage, and to play against players he once played alongside when at Napoli, which was under the guidance of manager Luciano Spalletti – now the manager of Italy, Ruiz dubbed the whole ordeal as a ‘special’ moment,’ though he hopes he will be on the winning side come tomorrow night.
“It’s always special, I love the country. It’s very special to be able to face ex-team-mates and a coach I played under. I’m very fond of Italy and I hope I can walk out of the game with the good memory of having won the match.”
You can find out what happens in that clash and everything else that happens at EURO2024 right here at FromTheSpot.