Spain coach Luis de la Fuente believes that winning the European Football Nations League can return his country to the winning streak after achieving its first international title in more than a decade, following a grueling penalty shootout victory against Croatia on Sunday.
De la Fuente told reporters early Monday morning: This group of players are used to winning, they win a lot and they can continue, I think competitiveness is back and we can look forward to winning more.
Spain’s first title since the 2012 European Championship was a moral boost to De La Fuente himself, who was under pressure after losing his second match against Scotland 2-0 in the 2024 European Championship qualifiers last March.
The defeat came after a disappointing participation in the World Cup in Qatar with coach Luis Enrique, as the 2010 World Champions were knocked out in the round of 16 by Morocco.
De la Fuente continued: I know this generation of players well and realize that they will not give up. We felt very comfortable this week and enjoyed the training sessions.
The coach indicated that these efforts paid off in the end during a goalless draw at the Feyenoord stadium in Rotterdam, when the two teams missed several chances to win.
And he continued: I asked the players to be calm because they did a great job and we deserved to win early, but this made the victory more epic, I would have felt satisfied if we had not won tonight, but the win adds luster and definitely makes everyone happier.
