Spain’s 4-1 win over Georgia proved to be a fairly routine victory for la Roja in the end, following an early scare that saw the underdogs take the lead by means of a Robin Le Normand own goal/
Luis de la Fuente’s men now turn their attention to Friday’s clash with an impressive Germany side in Stuttgart, though the Spanish boss – and midfielder Rodri – expressed that la Roja have nothing to fear.
What did Luis de la Fuente say?
Spain were the only team to win all three of their matches in the EURO2024 group stages, and by progressing to the quarterfinals on Sunday, they become the first team in EUROs history to win the first four matches at the tournament.
“We are ambitious and I knew that no one has won the first four games at a EUROs,” de la Fuente told reporters in his post-match press conference, highlighting the face that “we have the best team and the best players.”
He was extremely complimentary when speaking about Lamine Yamal, the young Barcelona star who has excelled on the flanks for la Roja throughout the tournament. On Sunday evening, he said: “Lamine played a good game, but I think he’s going to do even better.”
With Spain the fourth team to confirm their progression to the quarterfinals, de la Fuente added that “each match raises the difficulty, and now Germany is waiting.”
“The next rival is a power, with great players. It is the well-known German machine,” he commented, expressing his belief that “it will be a very equal match, but we are very sure of ourselves.”
What did Rodri say?
Beating die Mannschaft on German soil will be no easy feat, Rodri admitted when he spoke to the press following Spain’s 4-1 win over Georgia.
“Germany at home will be strong,” he expressed, “but we’re not afraid. If we want to progress, we’ll have to play a great game. We’re going to give it our all – the match against them will be very different than the match against Georgia.”
That victory over Willy Sagnol’s men wasn’t straightforward though, and Rodri revealed that he “asked for peace of mind” from his teammates after Robin Le Normand scored an own goal that handed Georgia the advantage.
“We knew it was going to be complicated, but except for those moments of doubt, we controlled the game. We were able to turn the situation around – the first goal I scored, I saw the space and I just hit it!”