Germany Cons, Enrique Has Yet To Determine The Main Spanish Goalkeeper

Spain national team coach Luis Enrique (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Spain coach Luis Enrique is still keeping the goalkeeper selected for the UEFA Nations League decider against Germany on Tuesday, saying his three goalkeepers have everything it takes to win the team.

Spain must beat Germany if it wants to advance to the last four finals next year.

While their opponents are relying on the presence of captain Manuel Neuer, uncertainty surrounds the situation of the Spanish goalkeeper.

"I have decided who the goalkeeper will be, but I will not tell the players who are ready to play until an hour and a half before the match," Luis Enrique said during a press conference and quoted by Reuters by Reuters on Monday.

Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has lost a regular place at Chelsea, David de Gea has been underperforming for Manchester United and the Spanish national team in recent times, and goalkeeper Unai Simon of Athletic Bilbao is still considered relatively inexperienced after playing the last two internationals.

Simon looked uncomfortable with the ball in last week's 1-1 draw in a friendly against the Netherlands. He also made a mistake in Saturday's 1-1 Nations League draw with Switzerland and avoided embarrassment after Gerard Moreno scored for Spain.

"Unai is at a very high level and neither Kepa or David de Gea, and we just have to choose one of them," added the coach.

"We have several factors to consider when thinking about our goalkeepers, they have to be able to play from behind, be strong in the air and cover our defensive lines when we press our opponents."

In his first two seasons as Barcelona coach, Luis Enrique selected Claudio Bravo in La Liga matches and Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the Copa del Rey and Champions League.

Currently he admits that he does not know who will be the number one goalkeeper for the European Championship which is scheduled for next year's anniversary.

"I've always felt that I have three or four goalkeepers who have what it takes to be number one. I don't know what will happen in the future, it will depend on how they perform. But I shouldn't be narrowing down my options and just have only one goalkeeper, "he said.

"Since I became a coach, I have always felt that you can choose your goalkeeper. A goalkeeper is just like any other player and he must always be ready to help the team."