European Football Championship - Spain's self-confidence hard to beat
The favorite title contender against the EM debutant and biggest outsider. The roles distribution before the EURO eight-finals between Spain and Georgia at Sunday (21.00 hours/ARD and MagentaTV) in Cologne cannot be clear - but even greater cannot be the fall height for the Furia Roja, if it goes wrong. Nobody wants to know about that from a potential quarterfinal opponent Germany. The self-confidence of the Spaniards in the team camp in Donaueschingen is unabashed.
"I haven't seen anyone play better. As a team, there's nobody better than us," said young star Nico Williams in an interview with the portal "Marca". "Nobody believes in us more than we do ourselves," said striker Ferran Torres.
Trainer Luis de la Fuente must now prove in the knockout round that he can begin a new era with the World Cup winner of 2010 and three-time European champions. The 63-year-old worked rather unobtrusively but extremely effectively so far. And of course, he expressed "highest respect for this rival, who is playing a fantastic tournament". Therefore, we must show our best to win this game and advance.
The way to the final on July 14 in Berlin with France or Portugal as potential semifinal opponents is "full of traps," warned the portal "Marca". On the one hand, Spain played through the group stage without a goal conceded and with veterans like Rodri and Dani Carvajal, two world-class stabilizers. On the other hand, the young wing forwards Lamine Yamal (16) and Williams (21) excite all experts.
"We have the best selection in the world," boasted striker Joselu from Real Madrid. However, Spain also stood out for chance creation: They benefited from an own goal against Italy, and against Albania, the B team left many points on the table.
De la Fuente has given all professionals playing time except for the third goalkeeper. This minimizes dissatisfaction - but also fuels desires. In particular, the Leipzig's Dani Olmo and scorer Torres (20 goals in 44 international games) hope for a starting spot. However, they will likely have to give way to Barcelona's Pedri and Yamal again.
Not just Tiki-Taka anymore
De la Fuente has kept the team unrested so far as Nations League champion. "The players are doing their job very well," he praised and looked ahead to the tournament developments: "Being the favorite means nothing. We must remain calm. We have many hopes, but we stay grounded."
The former pro has already given his players an effective offensive pressing and direct attacking play. In addition, he can build on his own tournament experience. De la Fuente was with the U21 in 2019 European champion and won Olympic silver in 2021. At the end of 2022, he replaced Luis Enrique as coach of the "Absoluta," as the A-National team is called. This team had failed at the World Cup in Qatar in the round of 16 against Morocco.
The Georgians self-confident
De la Fuente and his colleague Willy Sagnol had already met in the EURO qualifiers - 7:1 and 3:1 were the victories of the Spaniards over the Georgians, who qualified for the tournament through the Nations League and thrilled their entire country with a 2:0 win against Portugal.
"Spain is probably the best team of the group phase," said the former Bayern professional Sagnol after the coup against Portugal. "It will be a huge challenge for us – maybe too big? I don't know, but we will fight until the last minute." For Georgian football hero Chiwisha Kwaratschelia, it doesn't matter "whether it's Spain or Portugal: We respect all of them, but we will be there to win."
- Spain, as the favorite, will face Georgia, the EM debutant and underdog, in the round of sixteen of the European Football Championship on Sunday at 21:00 hours on ARD and MagentaTV in Cologne.
- Luis de la Fuente, the Spanish trainer, has shown effective work so far and has expressed high respect for Georgia, who are playing well in the tournament.
- Nico Williams, a young star from Spain, has been praised by experts for his outstanding performance, and Ferran Torres, the striker, believes in their own abilities to win the tournament.
- The distribution of roles for Spain's knockout match against Georgia is not clear, but the fallout for the team could be significant if they lose, particularly considering Germany as a potential quarterfinal opponent.
- Georges, who qualified for the tournament through the Nations League, has demonstrated self-confidence after defeating Portugal, boasting about having the best selection in the world, despite conceding a lack of goals in the group stage against Albania.
- De la Fuente has given all professionals playing time except for the third goalkeeper, which has helped minimize dissatisfaction but also fueled desires for starting spots, especially for Dani Olmo and scorer Torres.
- Luis de la Fuente has kept the team unrested as Nations League champion and praised their performance, emphasizing that being the favorite means nothing, and they must remain calm to advance.
- The Georgian team, led by Willy Sagnol, is confident, with Sagnol expressing high respect for Spain as the best team of the group phase, but also appreciating their own abilities to win despite facing a challenging match against Spain.
- Germany, the title contender, will be watching the match closely, as they know the consequences of Spain's loss would potentially put them in a more favorable position in the knockout stage of the European Football Championship.
