Two games away from a title. That is the short or long distance that separates Spain from the Nations League, in whose semifinals it will face Italy on June 15 in the Netherlands. And that reality has been repeated this Friday by Luis de la Fuente, national coach, to justify so many changes in his call with respect to his first list in March.
"We have a competition in which two games separate us from the title, the scenario is what it is. I don't make changes to the list capriciously, I do them assessing many aspects and I never talk about age. If this were a qualifying phase , which is something more in the long term, it would have been different but it is not like that," explained the man from La Rioja at the Ciudad del Fútbol in Las Rozas.
Three injured have fallen out of the squad (Iñigo Martínez, Balde and Robert Sánchez) apart from Pedri, who has been decided to rest. The rest of the absences have been by technical decision, such as that of Ceballos, one of De la Fuente's protégés: "It goes without saying what I feel for him, that he does not come has nothing to do with any problem of coexistence with Gavi "They are football issues and in the future it will come for sure. Everyone's behavior at the March rally was exquisite on everyone's part."
One of the star themes in the appearance of Luis de la Fuente at the Ciudad del Fútbol de Las Rozas was, without a doubt, his future on the Spanish bench, which according to some information could depend on what happens in the Netherlands in the Nations League .
The coach cleared all the balls with apparent calm. "I don't know if I'm smiling more or less, but I'm happy and calm. President Rubiales was very clear and forceful, that information was false and there is no more. I feel his full support and also that of the footballers, which is more important." , sentenced.
De la Fuente did not dwell too much on proper names but he did highly value the performance of Robin Le Normand, one of the great novelties of the call after his nationalization as a Spaniard. "He is a great footballer with an exceptional career at Real Sociedad these years. He has a fantastic future in a position like central defender in which Spain needs players of his level", he highlighted. "If they haven't called him from France, they haven't seen him much," he snapped.
