- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,203,810
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images attach
Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente watches from the touchlines during the 2026 FIFA World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Portugal and Spain at Dallas Stadium (AT&T Stadium). Ayman Aref/Jna Press/Nexpher via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente says his side have proved they can beat France and go into Tuesday's World Cup semi-final in confident mood.
The Spanish defeated the flying French 2-1 in the semi-finals of Euro 2024, en route to lifting the trophy in Berlin. They also got the better of Les Bleus in the 2025 Nations League semi-final in a wild 5-4 victory.
"It’s fair to think we can beat France. We’re going to work hard for it. We’re the only team that has managed to beat them twice. A great team is going to face another great team," the coach told reporters.
Spain's problem is that most pundits agree they are short of their Euro 2024 best.
Lamine Yamal was rushed back from injury and did not look fully fit in Friday's 2-1 quarter-final win over Belgium while fellow winger Nico Williams has also been hampered by a knock.
Substitute Mikel Merino has been needed to score late match winners against Portugal and Belgium. Meanwhile favourites France have been the form team of the tournament, scoring impressive goals and attacking at a pace Spain have not matched.
Nevertheless, De la Fuente thinks his side can topple the 2018 winners and 2022 runners-up in Texas.
"It’s the character of the team. It’s an honour to coach a team so committed and eager to improve," he said.
Continue reading...
