Luis De La Fuente Brings The Spanish National Team More Flexible With Various Tactics

Coach Luis de la Fuente admits that the Spanish national team now has more tactical options, no longer relying on football possession strategies like in the era of coach Luis Enrique.

Based on UEFA statistics in the Spanish vs Croatia match, Luka Modric and his friends control the ball 54 percent better than Spain, which is only 46 percent. Croatia has also made more passes with 467 times, while La Roja has only been 392 times.

However, Spain, who played faster than Croatia, managed to secure a 3-0 victory through Alvaro Morata, Fabian Ruiz, and Dani Carvajal's goals.

"We are turning this national team into a team that has many options," said De la Fuente as reported by AFP on Sunday, June 16.

"Our opponents know that we can hurt them by possession of the ball or attacks based on position games, or we can also counterattack them very quickly," he continued.

"We press very well, winning the ball in the opposing region, we have different flexibility and tactical options," added De la Fuente.

This coach explained that the change in tactics was supported by the presence of several players with above-average speeds.

"That's because we have players with different advantages. We have players with speeds like Ferran Torres, Nico Williams, Lamine Yamal, Ayoze Perez, it gives us options. That's the message we conveyed," said the former Athletic Bilbao coach.

On the other hand, De la Fuente asked his players not to be complacent after a 3-0 win over Croatia.

"The players know that this country will be very happy, we are aware of it and its euphoria," he said. We just have to remain calm and be professional because staying calm is power."

Madrid defender Dani Carvajal, who scored against Croatia, also asked his teammates to improve their performance in the next match.

"It's true that we all believe in each other, but we missed more chances than we should have if we wanted to go far," Carvajal said.

Spain is in Group B with Croatia, Albania, and Italy.