Spain coach Luis de la Fuente was visibly satisfied with his side’s performance in Sunday’s Euro 2024 round of 16 victory against Georgia – with confidence also moving through the veins of the players ahead of their battle with hosts Germany in the last eight.
La Roja came from a goal down to defeat the Euro first-timers 4-1 at the Duesseldorf Arena on Sunday — a performance which was well received by the gaffer.
De la Fuente had words of praise in his post-match press conference, saying:
“I think we controlled the game at all times with brilliant stages of play against an opponent that defended really well and was good on the counter attack.
“We need to properly value how important this victory is, because our opponent was a really good team.”
Spain went behind as Robin Le Normand turned Otar Kakabadze’s cross into his own net but they drew level at the interval before going on to dominate the second half.
“We knew that Georgia’s danger came from the transition and counter attack, but they didn’t have any shots on goal,” De la Fuente continued.
“Of course, when they scored we were a bit nervous for a while, but we created so many chances that the result could have been 8-1 to us.
Spain’s next hurdle is a trip to Stuttgart on Friday to face hosts Germany in the quarter-finals.
“We have a lot of confidence and a team with talent, quality and commitment. Being convinced of your ability is very important. I don’t want to offend anyone but we have the best team at this tournament,” De la Fuente added.
“Germany is a fantastic team, they have some of the best players in the world and they are very organised, very disciplined. But they will face a team that is very similar to them, very committed, very well organised, difficult to overcome, hungry with lots of ambition.
“I know it’s the usual thing to say but in football, it’s the small details that will decide the match and what happens in the end.”
