Spain beat the Czechia 3-1 to make it another victory, although the game proved more difficult than expected. With several new faces in the squad, Luis de la Fuente highlighted the depth and quality of the players coming through when speaking to TVE.
“Suffering shows the footballing level of the national teams we face. You have to produce your best performance and have your best day, otherwise the opposition can hurt you. Every national team has quality,” the Spain head coach said.
De la Fuente also pointed to the impact of the changes made during the game. “In the second half, we lacked a little fluidity. The substitutions also break up the game a bit. The players’ attitude is always commendable and fantastic, but we were missing the brilliance we had in the first half.”
Despite that, he was highly satisfied with the result. “We’re very happy. It’s another victory and the numbers are impressive. We remain top of the group, and the game against Croatia could be decisive,” he said.
On the number of changes made to the team, De la Fuente added: “The team keeps growing. We keep bringing through players for the future. We finished the game with only one player who played in the World Cup final. We’re going to continue believing in this approach.”
Finally, De la Fuente spoke about the emotional experience of facing Santi Denia and Pablo Amo, the Czechia’s head coach and assistant coach respectively.
“It was very emotional. We have great memories together. Very emotional. They are two great professionals. I liked the way they have changed the team. I wish them all the best,” he concluded.