Luis de la Fuente spoke to the media on Monday in the press room at Stadion Poljud in Split, where he had plenty of positive things to say about Lamine Yamal’s constant desire to shine for Spain. The national team star, according to his manager, always wants to make an impact.
“He has the anxiety of a genius, of someone with exceptional talent. And I don’t mean anxiety in a negative sense. He is always eager because he wants to be the best. We have a team with an exceptional hunger because none of them ever gets tired of competing,” De la Fuente said of Lamine, who has scored Spain’s opening goal in all three of their matches during the current international break.
Without confirming whether Lamine will start, De la Fuente insisted that the young forward is in good shape despite the number of minutes he has already played, having featured more than any other Spain player during this international break.
“Every player wants to play. Then it is up to us to assess whether it is the right decision or not. Lamine is in fantastic form and he is a natural competitor. We have always fielded the best possible team for each match we have had to play. That is what we have done throughout this tournament,” he explained.
De la Fuente also spoke about Dani Olmo, for whom this match is inevitably a special one given his past in Croatia.
“He knows perfectly well how important it is. We will assess when it would be most beneficial for Dani to be on the pitch, but he has extra motivation and is a very popular player in Croatia,” the Spain manager said of Olmo, who started against England at Wembley and against Czechia in Oviedo, but did not feature in Sevilla.
As for the opposition, De la Fuente highlighted Croatia’s strengths and played down the significance of their 7-0 defeat to England.
“For me, they are a fantastic team. They have been one of the most important national sides in recent years. What happened the other day was an accident. We are expecting a passionate and electric atmosphere, and we like that. It will be a great spectacle. I like feeling the crowd, whether they are supporting us or against us,” De la Fuente said, confident that Spain can wrap up this extended international break with another victory.