The praise for Kylian Mbappé, the utmost respect for a footballer who, although he has not been at his best level at Euro 2024conditioned by playing with a mask after fracturing the bones of his nose, marked the appearance of Luis de la Fuente, Spanish coach, before the semifinal duel between Spain and France: “He is a genius; an outstanding one.”
“These types of footballers are unpredictable, you don’t know when they appear. They never disappear, but they can have a lower level and their 50% can be the 100% of anyone else. They can allow themselves the luxury of not being in a game and deciding it,” analyzed.
“Mabppé is a genius, a super star, just like other French footballers because they have an exceptional team. Knowing his potential, we are going to try to minimize his virtues. We are prepared, we have the tools to do it. I trust in our potential and that we are superior to counteract these situations. I have blind faith in my team. We are prepared to win a game that could be a final,” he added.
Put in the position of choosing Mbappé or Nico Williams, De la Fuente was clear. “They are two great footballers, but mine are the best, recognizing that Mbappé is outstanding.”
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De la Fuente faces the Euro Cup semi-final against France as “a fantastic opportunity” to shine and reach a dream final. “We have done a lot of merit to be here. As happened with Germany, this match could be a final. These are matches of details and we have to make few mistakes,” he added.
“A give-and-take, back-and-forth match is not convenient for us, we are a team to control, to have control of the game. We do the transition situation very well, but we are not interested. We are going to see two totally different styles because “France plays comfortably without the ball and takes advantage of spaces when you deploy. We have to be alert to counterattack situations and be accurate with the ball to avoid losses,” he analyzed.
The respect that De la Fuente showed to France was maximum and he ruled out that it is a boring team that does not take advantage of its virtues. He called her “physically the strongest” in the tournament.
“I analyze the potential of a team and it is exceptional, fantastic, with players of a very high level and a very good team game. Everyone gets bored or has fun with what they want, I always have fun with football and watching France doesn’t bore me never,” he said.
