The uncertainty that surrounded Spain’s head coach Luis de la Fuente was put to rest when he guided his team to victory in the UEFA Nations League and brought an end to a trophy drought that had lasted for ten years.
Despite the fact that La Roja required penalties to upset Croatia and win in Rotterdam, the fact that they were able to do so helped calm tensions that had been building since their failure in the Euro 2024 qualifying match against Scotland in March.
The nomination of De la Fuente by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to replace Luis Enrique has aroused concerns due to the fact that the 61-year-old is a relative unknown as a coach, having only worked within the country’s junior divisions beginning in 2013.
The fact that he lost his first game, which was against Norway and which he won, did not inspire confidence after his performance in that game.
However, the third and fourth matches turned out to be a lot more fun for the coach, as they were successful in defeating Italy and then Croatia to win the cup.
Despite the fact that the Nations League is a relatively new tournament, with this being just its third edition, Spain and De la Fuente are optimistic that it may serve as a stepping stone to even greater success, as the seas around him have become more calm.
“All projects are better constructed on a base of victory, and this gives us more strength, confidence, and calm,” remarked the coach after the team’s triumph.
One of the most significant adjustments that De la Fuente has made is the switch from Spain’s traditional 4-3-3 shape to a 4-2-3-1 configuration.
Rodri, a midfielder for Manchester City who was voted the player of the tournament for the Nations League finals, is a crucial cog in this machine.
In spite of the backlash that Luis Enrique received for putting Rodri in the middle of the defense at the 2022 World Cup so that he could create place for Sergio Busquets, his successor has moved Rodri back to his more familiar position in the middle of the field.
Rodri, who is undoubtedly the finest player in the world at his position, linked up nicely with Mikel Merino and then Fabian Ruiz when they faced Italy and Croatia, respectively.
Rodri has emerged as a leader for his nation thanks to his articulate and self-assured demeanor as well as his ability to set an example on the field.
After the victorious conclusion of the Nations League match, he said that “this generation holds a lot of promise.” Previously, he advocated for Spain to begin a fresh streak of consecutive victories.
Rodri’s rise as the team’s “frontman” may be somewhat attributed to Spain’s lack of star power in the attack. Although Spain has a large number of dangerous forwards, none of them are considered to be among the best in the world.
Ansu Fati of Barcelona played well off the bench against Croatia and shown that he is capable of making a significant contribution if he is able to remain healthy. Yeremy Pino, Dani Olmo, and Marco Asensio are all equally brilliant, but inconsistent players.
While Alvaro Morata has been unsuccessful in his attempts to establish himself at a number of the greatest clubs in Europe, backup striker Joselu has just signed with Real Madrid and is enjoying the best form of his career at the ripe old age of 33.
Spain was unable to find a way to break through against Croatia and had to win through penalty kicks; according to De la Fuente, this brought an additional layer of excitement to the victory.
“We deserved to win before, but the penalties give it a dash of the epic,” said the coach, who anticipates that their success will continue. “The penalties give it a dash of the epic.”
“Obviously, winning gives you more shine, and I expect there will be more joy to come in the future.”