Sport
Spain are the only team at Euro 2024 to have won all their matches so far. Luis de la Fuente’s side have a perfect record of four wins from four games with La Roja preparing for a quarter-final showdown with Germany on Friday. The hosts have also enjoyed a strong tournament to date, but Spain might be on another level.
It’s just two years since Spain exited the 2022 World Cup with a whimper. Back then Luis Enrique faced criticism for being too much of an ideologue, favouring a possession-heavy style that blunted the attacking threat of his team in the final third. The shock defeat to Morocco in Qatar led to Enrique’s exit as manager.
In his place, de la Fuente was hired. To outsiders, the 63-year-old was something of an unknown. He certainly wasn’t a big name like Enrique. Instead, de la Fuente was hired on the basis of his work with Spain’s youth teams and their decision has been vindicated by the changes that have moulded La Roja into Euro 2024 frontrunners.
De la Fuente has kept the possession base that gives Spain control in many of the matches they play, but he has added directness and goal threat to their game. The 3-0 win over Croatia in Spain’s opening game of Euro 2024 highlighted how they have changed as a team with Luka Modric and co. having more of the ball. It didn’t matter, though, as Spain picked them off on the break.
Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal have fundamentally changed the landscape for Spain. Under Luis Enrique, Spain were accused of lacking cutting edge in the final third. Now, though, they have two exciting, fearless young wingers capable of producing something out of nothing at any moment. They are generational talents.
In midfield, de la Fuente has found the right balance with Rodri a dominating number six and Fabian Ruiz frequently the central operator who leads the press. Then there’s Pedri, who is given the freedom to drift in between the lines and find pockets of space from which he can pick passes and burst into the box.
“We have the ability to continue to impose our style,” said de la Fuente after the round of 16 victory over Georgia which saw Spain bounce back to win 4-1 after falling behind in the first half. “We played very well with a high press, which allowed us to get the ball back. But one of the characteristics of Spain is our ability to change approaches and that variety is our strength.
“We have different qualities, different tactical approaches, and that’s an extra difficulty for opponents. If you have players with the speed of Lamine [Yamal] or Nico [Williams] or Ferran [Torres], that gives you something else. And the players know that. I have always tried to communicate that.”
Some might point out that Dani Carvajal and Marc Cucurella can be vulnerable in the full back positions. This is an area opponents might look to exploit. However, Spain are smart about how they provide protection for Carvajal and Cucurella, often asking one of the central midfielders to fill in when one of them ventures forward.
Tournament football means that the best side doesn’t always end up lifting the trophy, but Spain are the most complete team at Euro 2024. De la Fuente has squared the circle in a way Enrique was never able to during his time as Spain manager with Williams and Yamal game-changers for La Roja. As Spain’s national team enters a new era, old successes might be emulated.
