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With two European championships in 2008 and 2012, and victory at the 2010 World Cup, La Roja is expected to dominate football for many years. However, they have declined at an astonishing rate. The players destined to replace their golden generation failed miserably.
Spain 's journey to defend its championship at the 2014 World Cup ended in shame, when it was crushed 5-1 by the Netherlands and eliminated from the group stage.
At EURO 2016, they were eliminated by Italy in the 1/8 round. Marca newspaper called this the "end" of the era of Vicente del Bosque.
Spain lost at the same stage at the 2018 World Cup to Russia after a penalty shootout. They threw more than 1,000 passes but could not make things difficult for the home team.
At EURO 2020, the Gaurs played better by reaching the semi-finals, but the loss to Morocco at the 2022 World Cup left them hurt once again.
However, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has confidence that the Spanish team has come close to the threshold they expected. RFEF replaced coach Luis Enrique with Luis de la Fuente, who had coached Spanish youth teams for many years with success.
Despite initial jitters, including a 2-0 loss to Scotland in 2023, Spain remained loyal to the little-known Luis de la Fuente and are now reaping the rewards.
Fuente imprint
De la Fuente helped the team win their first title in 11 years by winning the Nations League in the summer of 2023, and pledges that this is just the beginning.
And that was proven at EURO 2024 when La Roja played with fire. They topped the most difficult group, featuring defending champion Italy, before defeating Germany and France.
Compared to its opponents, the Spanish team comes to EURO 2024 with a squad that does not have many notable stars, other than Manchester City midfielder Rodri.
However, their players surprised everyone. Lamine Yamal shined brightly when he was less than 17 years old, with plays that surprised experts. On the opposite wing, Nico Williams has also become the focus of attention and may soon leave Athletic Bilbao to join a bigger team.
Marc Cucurella, who faced many difficulties at Chelsea, also played very well at EURO 2024. Or Aymeric Laporte, who is playing in Saudi Arabia, also left strong marks in Germany.
In general, the lack of superstars is not a problem for the Spanish team. “I have 26 great players and I am lucky that they are Spanish,” Mr. de la Fuente said.
De la Fuente, more realistic than his predecessor. He is showing the advantage of giving the Spanish team many different approaches in matches.
Spain still focuses on controlling the ball but is also ready to release Yamal and Williams, allowing them to confidently break through and overcome opponents in 1-on-1 situations.
The Spanish team under Enrique tried to pass the ball continuously, overwhelming the opponent, but sometimes at EURO 2024, La Roja only controlled the ball less than 50%.
De la Fuente knows his players better than most of his peers in this league, having coached the majority of them over the past few years.
He helped Spain's U19 win the championship in 2015, and Spain's U21 won the European crown in 2019. In addition, he also won the Tokyo Olympic silver medal in the Olympic team in 2021. Many current members of the Spanish national team participated in these youth teams.
Understanding the players and having a long time to continuously develop at all team levels has helped Fuente build the Spain team to play well together and effectively as it is now.
If they defeat England, the Spain team will mark a transition back to glory, with a little-known strategist but very knowledgeable about players like Fuente.
