Abhay Singh
Despite facing a mounting list of absences, Spain’s coach Luis De la Fuente exudes a sense of serenity and conviction in his team’s capacity to take charge during their upcoming home match against Serbia in the Nations League on Tuesday.
His unwavering confidence in the squad and strategic approach hints at a strong belief that they possess the necessary skills and determination to dominate proceedings on the field and secure a favorable outcome in front of their fans.
Barcelona forward Lamie Yamal was the latest to withdraw
With a left hamstring strain, Barcelona striker Lamine Yamal was the most recent player to leave the game on Sunday. Rodrigo Riquelme of Atletico Madrid has been called up to take the 17-year-old’s position.
De la Fuente said “(Yamal) is irreplaceable, (But) we have to play eleven and whoever replaces him will want to make a statement. Lamine is fantastic, but… you have to understand that, in this life, nobody gives anything away for free. Whoever has to replace him, I’m sure they will do it very well.”
Seven important players who played in the Euro 2024 final versus England will be absent for the European champion.
Last week, injured midfielders Rodri and Dani Olmo, goalkeeper Unai Simon, defenders Dani Carvajal and Robin Le Normand, and attacker Nico Williams withdrew from the team.
“They are (too) irreplaceable”
De la Fuente said “They are (too) irreplaceable, each one brings different things to the table. But we are lucky that this is a national team and the best players come here, I never miss anyone, because those who are playing are (also) very good.”
“Obviously, we don’t work with closed blocks as it happens at club level, but we also have players who have been here for a long time and internalise the messages. In a club, you have much more time to do many more things than we do.” He added.
This season, the Serbs have already put up a fight against the League A4 leader after holding Spain to a 0-0 tie in Serbia in September. Since then, De la Fuente’s team has defeated Denmark and Switzerland to take the lead in the group with seven points.
The Spain coach added “It will be a very difficult match because Serbia need to get a good result tomorrow, All their players play in big European leagues and we can see how they perform there. They are a team that runs a lot, [a lot of] of counter-attacking. It’s a game that will require a lot of maturity and hard work.”
He concluded “Physically they are very powerful and tactically they are very balanced. We have to work hard, be inspired and give our best. There are no small opponents here, they are all games that demand excellence from you.”
Serbia defeated Switzerland 2-0 on Saturday, thanks to goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic and an own goal by Swiss defender Nico Elvedi. Serbia is currently third in the rankings with four points.
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