Spain manager Luis de la Fuente defends tactical change against Germany – 'Would do the same again'
Manager of Spain Luis de la Fuente says he has no regrets about his changes during the closing stages of their victory over Germany in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024. He was criticized for being too conservative in the latter stages of the game, with the hosts grabbing a late equalizer after a period of prolonged pressure.
La Roja will face France in another test for a young team against a very experienced Didier Deschamps outfit. Spain were unanimously crowned as the team playing the best football so far, but De la Fuente said Chain Cope that they had a lot to work on for the semi-final.
“We have to improve in everything, you can always do that. We have to press better, we have to release more and we have to make sure that we are more aware and vigilant defensively because with the way we play, we expose ourselves a lot. And in the offensive phase we need to be more efficient, take advantage of the opportunities we have and not lose balls to favor the counterattack of the rivals.
Did you make the same changes against Germany a second time?
“Yes. We tend to become fond of certain players and sometimes it seems that it is an aberration to replace them. We, with the changes, try to go beyond the immediate.” – from the Fountain.pic.twitter.com/1BnGPXweDw
— Football España (@footballespana_) July 8, 2024
In the last half hour, de la Fuente took off Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams for Ferran Torres and Mikel Merino, favoring a more defensive approach. While the latter scored the winner, de la Fuente was criticized in Spain for allowing Germany to come at them with a more conservative approach.
“Yes. We tend to affect some players and sometimes it seems that it is an aberration to replace them. We, with the changes, are trying to go beyond the immediate. Knowing Germany, what we were looking for was more freshness, with players who were working more defensively. We didn't want to remove Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal and we had no chance to win. Also, we were winners and then the players who came out had a lot of influence on the final result.”
De la Fuente is also in his first major tournament as a senior manager, although he has plenty of tournament experience as an under-19 and under-21 coach. His mettle will be tested against the most experienced international manager in the competition in Deschamps, who has received no shortage of criticism but also has his team in a third semi-final out of their last four major tournaments.
