De La Fuente Cautious On Spain's Euro 2024 Comparisons To Past Glories

Spain has advanced to the Euro 2024 knockout stages, but Luis de la Fuente remains cautious about drawing comparisons with the legendary La Roja team that achieved European and World Cup success. De la Fuente's squad secured their place in the last 16 with a game to spare, following victories over Croatia (3-0) and Italy (1-0).

Despite their strong performance, De la Fuente insists that his team has not yet earned the same level of acclaim as the 2010 World Cup and 2012 European Championship winners. "We have a long way to go to catch up with that national team you mentioned because they won the Euros," De la Fuente stated during a pre-match press conference on Sunday, ahead of Monday's match against Albania.

De la Fuente emphasized the need for continuous improvement. "We need to improve in every area. That may seem negative, but we have to keep improving. That's our goal from day to day," he said. He added that there is significant room for growth, which makes him optimistic about the future.

The victorious Spain team of the past featured iconic players such as David Villa, Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Iker Casillas, and Carles Puyol. While Rodri has taken on a role similar to Xavi in midfield, he will be suspended for the upcoming match against Albania. De la Fuente assured that Spain would not become complacent.

"We're only focusing on winning because we want to win every match," said De la Fuente, who previously coached Spain's youth teams. "We want to send out what we feel is the best side. We have complete confidence in our 26 players here. Everyone has a chance to play at a high level, so I'm very calm about that."

Spain and France are the only teams yet to concede a goal in this tournament, despite England and Germany being considered pre-tournament favourites. De la Fuente expects these favoured teams to find their form soon.

"I don't think we've seen the real quality of certain teams yet," he noted. "Some of them have reached a strong competitive level straight away while others that some may call favourites or contenders haven't yet got going fully."

Knockout Phase Expectations

As the tournament progresses into the knockout phase, De la Fuente believes that teams will begin to show their true potential. "When you head into the knockout phase, there's no room for error. So I think that once the last 16 begins, we'll see the real potential of every team," he concluded.