Spanish Manager: We Will Apply to UEFA to Tie Up Kroos, If Possible

On July 4th, Spanish manager Luis de la Fuente attended the pre-match press conference ahead of their clash with Germany, expressing full confidence in the upcoming challenge.

The Spanish coach emphasized the significance of the match, describing it as “almost a final,” and acknowledged the balance of power between the two sides, stating, “From a footballing perspective, both teams are evenly matched.”

Regarding their strategy for the early stages, De la Fuente said, “Germany always starts strong, but we will try to match them in the same way. The best defense is to attack in the same manner.”

Touching on the possibility of a penalty shootout, he confirmed they were prepared: “We have practiced everything, penalties, free kicks, corners… We are ready, you have to prepare for everything, including penalties.”

When asked if Dani Olmo would start, he remained enigmatic: “I won’t reveal the starting eleven as usual, but Dani is ready.”

Addressing Spain’s poor away record against host nations, De la Fuente remained optimistic: “In competitions at this level, home advantage isn’t that significant. We have experienced players who won’t be intimidated by a more hostile atmosphere.”

On what could be decisive, he replied, “I believe a team’s strength lies in doing its job well. We can’t rely on Germany making mistakes, although we will try to limit their strengths.”

Speaking highly of Germany’s key player, Toni Kroos, De la Fuente said, “I consider Kroos a superstar, a player of extraordinary quality. Football will never forget him. He brings talent, class, charisma… He transmits confidence to the team.”

Evaluating the German squad, he mentioned, “Germany is great because they have a very solid and balanced unit, but they also have individual talents like Musiala, Wirtz, Gundogan… It’s a team worthy of a European Championship or World Cup final, but we also have a very strong team.”

His message to the players was straightforward: “We are players, we play football. This is a very important game, but we’re prepared for it. I’ll try to downplay the drama of the match.”

With a touch of humor, he addressed how to deal with Kroos’ threat: “We were thinking of tying up Kroos, but we don’t know if UEFA would approve. We’ll try to make it difficult for him to get the ball and limit their attacking options. Let me reiterate, we’ll apply to UEFA to see if we can tie him up.”