The Spain coach, Luis de la Fuente, has discovered a approach to flip his doubters into supporters. Almost a 12 months after he was appointed amid a wave of scepticism, De la Fuente now has widespread backing on the helm of La Roja, having turned Spain right into a contender once more and comfortably securing the group a spot at Euro 2024.
Spain certified for subsequent 12 months’s event in Germany on Sunday with a 1-0 win in Norway – the group’s sixth straight triumph since a loss at Scotland in March had left De la Fuente underneath strain simply two video games into his stint.
“We’re at all times studying,” stated De la Fuente. “At that second the evaluation was completely different than it’s now. We’ve simply reached an vital goal and we have now to maintain working and studying. We recognise what was finished nicely, however we all know there are nonetheless issues to enhance.”
The 62-year-old changed Luis Enrique after the group’s exit at the hands of Morocco within the final 16 of the World Cup in Qatar. He was then comparatively unknown in Spain after spending years teaching the nation’s youth squads. His first match in cost was a house win in a qualifier towards Norway during which Spain struggled from the beginning, and the next loss to Scotland put De la Fuente on the new seat early on. Many didn’t assume he had the expertise to take cost of the nationwide group on the time.
However after the sluggish begin, De la Fuente additionally helped Spain win the Nations League with victories over Italy within the semi-finals and Croatia in a penalty shootout within the ultimate. Spain then routed Georgia 7-1 and Cyprus 6-0 in qualifiers, and defeated Scotland 2-0 at house final week earlier than securing their spot on the finals towards Erling Haaland’s Norway.
“I’m pleased with the work that we’ve finished,” De la Fuente stated. “Once you obtain one thing like this, issues will need to have been finished proper. However in soccer sooner or later you might be up and the opposite you might be down once more, so we have now to remain balanced. I’m blissful now, however I additionally stayed composed within the more durable moments.”
De la Fuente put Spain again on monitor partly by betting on the expertise of some youthful gamers. He saved gamers like Gavi, Ansu Fati and Pedri – who performed on the World Cup – and introduced in others similar to 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, the Barcelona sensation.
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His expertise with the nation’s youth squads proved vital, and he now has his job secured for some time. “Now we have a group for the longer term, it’s what I’m most enthusiastic about,” he stated. “We labored onerous to be the place we’re and we deserve it. Now we have to get pleasure from it.”
