De La Fuente: Spain Must Stay Buried Even Though It's Perfect In The Euro 2024 Group Phase

JAKARTA - Spanish manager Luis de la Fuente said that Spain should not be too confident in their chances of winning the Euro 2024 title. Even though their second-tier team managed to beat Albania 1-0 on Monday, June 24 or Tuesday morning WIB so that they completed the group phase perfectly.

After winning against Croatia and defending Italian champions who had already secured Spain's place in the round of 16 as winners of Group B, De la Fuente made 10 changes in the line-up and they still managed to secure a third straight win, all with a clean sheet.

When asked about his team being considered favorites to win the tournament, De la Fuente said that despite the praise, his team would not get caught up in excessive confidence.

"We are all free to dream... but we have to stick to reality - being considered a favorite doesn't guarantee anything," he told a news conference.

"We are happy that people appreciate the work we do and recognize the talents of this generation. That means we are considered good. Winning all three games, clean sheeting in all three matches, is very difficult... But let's stay humble. We know how things are in Spain... one day you are at the top and the next day you are worthless," he said.

De la Fuente is delighted to be able to give everyone the opportunity to play except the third-choice goalkeeper, Alex Remiro, in the group stage and believes his team is ready for the knockout round even though they don't like having to wait to find out who their next opponent is.

"If we have slept two or three hours a day, now we have to go through a sleepless night because of the short time to learn the next opponent," said De la Fuente.

"Of course we can still develop, this is a principle we put in the dressing room. We are not satisfied and this group is very ambitious. But after all, we will be mentally ready and ready to give everything to overcome this match... Of course we will be ready," he explained.

"Our game plans are running as expected. We have a lot of energy. The situation becomes more difficult after the break, and we face some difficulties. We have room to develop, but we have an amazing generation of players who want to continue to improve. When you play against the best, you have to be in your best form., "said De La Fuente about his policy of fielding players.

De la Fuente also talked about the next round: "We need to wait until Wednesday maybe to find out who we will face [in the round of 16], but we will be mentally prepared to confront them."