Euro 2024: Luis de la Fuente’s remarks before the France-Spain match
Luis de la Fuente stated that his team would not face Kylian Mbappé at full strength on Tuesday due to his broken nose. The Real Madrid striker played with a mask during the knockout matches and has yet to score in open play, which, according to Luis de la Fuente, affects his game.
In an interview with Cadena Cope on Sunday night, de la Fuente was asked if he had a specific plan to stop Mbappé on Tuesday night.
“I’ve never done that, and I believe in specific positions that each player knows how to master, except in specific situations. But normally, I like all players to play in the position where I think they perform best”.
The Spanish coach also explained that after having defender Robin Le Normand play with a similar mask at one point, he felt that Mbappé’s performance was suffering.
“People need to know that such a mask is quite restrictive. We had a similar situation with Le Normand, he wasn’t breathing normally, he was very tired and even had muscle problems. It limits you, but in any case, Mbappé at 80% is still a lot of Mbappé, even if it’s true that we haven’t seen his best version yet and he has enormous potential”.
Of course, the number one plan to combat Mbappé would have been Dani Carvajal, but the Real Madrid right-back is suspended after being sent off at the end of the match against Germany. De la Fuente must therefore make a decision for the right-back position. Jesus Navas is the obvious replacement, while Nacho Fernandez could also play in that position. It has even been suggested that Marc Cucurella could switch sides.
“It’s not that I trust Jesus Navas, it’s that Jesus Navas is the best. He has the legs to hold on for a while, he’s a fantastic player, and I have total and absolute confidence in him. I don’t know yet if he will play or not, but he is very prepared. And Mbappé is a player who has the ability to overflow like Dembélé or Barcola, and that is resolved with the help and coverage of a teammate”.
Ahead of the Euro 2024 semi-final, Spain has the chance to participate in their first major final since Euro 2012, the last time they won a major competition. La Roja experienced victory in the Nations League last year under de la Fuente’s leadership, but at the same time, France is very experienced, having reached the semi-finals of the Euro and World Cup in three of the last four tournaments.
