Football
Italy didn’t play badly, we were so good, Spain’s coach is clear. The starlets, who are collectively less than Ronaldo, shone
Spain’s 1-0 win over Italy was backed up by a great performance, which logically also pleased coach De la Fuente. In his words, the opponent did not play badly, but his charges were so good. Two young stars whose combined age is less than Portugal’s Ronaldo shone.
Spain’s 1-0 win over Italy was supported by a great performance, which logically also pleased coach De la Fuente. According to his words, the opponent did not play badly, but his charges were so good. Two young stars whose combined age is less than Portugal’s Ronaldo shone.
The clash of footballing superpowers, who have five European and world titles between them, looked like a game clearly for Spain. The match was eventually decided by a single goal, an unlucky own goal by young Italian Calafiori. Spain is now assured of promotion from first place in Group B.
“Tonight I saw the great potential of my team. We have the ability to play against an excellent team like Italy. It may seem that Italy played badly, but that’s because we played so well,” Luis de la Fuente, coach of the winners, told uefa.com.
“They won the Euros three years ago and they still have an excellent team. I like the fact that people are starting to think we could win the championship. But we have to stay focused and calm. The players have to enjoy what they do best, playing football,” the 66-year-old coach said after the game.
Yamal and Williams are thirty-seven years old together
Both Spanish wingers played brilliantly in the match. And they are younger than, say, Portugal’s Ronaldo. Barcelona’s Yamal is sixteen, Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams turns twenty-two in July. Ronaldo is thirty-nine..
“I am proud of the endless ambition of our young players. What’s more, they have an endless work ethic. What impressed me the most was that they both knew how to play at different stages of this difficult match,” de la Fuente said of them.
The former Spanish youth national team pilot, with whom he has collected a number of successes, also commented on the absence of stopper Nacho Fernandez. The Real player was missing due to a minor illness but should be ready for the next stage of the tournament, reliably replaced by Aymeric Laporte.
The Spaniards will surely finish first in the group already. They will be able to rotate their line-up in their last game against Albania, while the Italians will have to work harder against Croatia.
Source: CT Sport, UEFA.com, X
