De la Fuente: “Seeing Italy is like looking in the mirror”

After easily winning the first match of the Euro Cup, Spain take on his old team Italy this Thursday, a match likely to have already confirmed their place in the Round of 16 after Croatia and Albania clash. “I focus on Italy and do not look beyond that. As the saying in Andalusia goes, game by game is older than walking palant”, Luis de la Fuente clearly said in the preview.

The Spanish coach spoke highly of the transalpine team, which he has faced on several occasions even in the youth ranks: “I know them very well, in this generation, for example, we faced them in the European Under 21 Championship which we won. I like how competitive they are, they have a great personality and a lot of experience. They have many similarities with us, it’s like looking in the mirror.”

England have made no changes to their XI for the two-match series against Denmark, although there are question marks in two areas.

De la Fuente did not shy away from analysing the rivalry with the Italians. “It is a classic in major tournaments, it is a match that could be the final of the European Championship or the World Cup. They are two countries with a great football tradition and an exceptional media culture around football,” Riojan explained.

Rodri, one of the regulars in the national team, finished the match against Croatia with physical problems. De la Fuente confirmed that he will be fit to face Italy: “He is a key player for us, I have not detected anything, and he is in perfect condition to play. He and everyone else.”

Finally, he also praised the moment of Pedri, who played an hour against Croatia with a lot of physical fatigue, which prevented him from participating too much in the game. “He is improving with each training session and his confidence is growing every day. He is meeting Pedri. We have great expectations from him and I believe he will take advantage of the opportunity to show himself in this type of media showcase.”