DALLAS, Texas : Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said teenager Lamine Yamal’s defining moment at the World Cup could still lie ahead as his side prepare to face France in Tuesday’s semi-final.
Yamal celebrated his 19th birthday on the eve of the match, and De la Fuente urged the winger to enjoy the occasion rather than feel burdened by expectation.
“I’ve told him there is no need to worry – let him enjoy himself. I’m sure Lamine’s great World Cup day is still to come. I hope it’s tomorrow and, if not, then in the final, if we can get there,” De la Fuente told reporters on Monday.
Yamal arrived at the tournament recovering from a hamstring injury sustained while converting a penalty for Barcelona in late April. He has gradually regained fitness, scoring once but yet to register an assist.
Spain beat France 5-4 in last year’s Nations League semi-final, although De la Fuente said Tuesday’s meeting would present a different challenge after his side almost squandered a 5-1 lead in the closing stages of that encounter.
“We learn a lot from those matches, as they will have done,” he said. “We will try to repeat the scenarios where situations were favourable to us and avoid the others.”
The Spain coach described the semi-final as a clash of contrasting styles and said his players would have to cope with France’s dangerous counter-attacking threat.
Asked how Spain planned to contain Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise, De la Fuente said his staff had thoroughly analysed the French attack.
“We’ve analysed them very, very thoroughly. They have players of exceptional calibre, but so do we,” he said. “The key is to impose our own characteristics and style, and to neutralise the opposition. That’s football. The more balanced side is usually closer to winning, although that’s no guarantee.”
De la Fuente said France had improved since the teams last met and dismissed suggestions from France coach Didier Deschamps that Spain were favourites to progress.
“Being told you are favourites or not means nothing,” he said. “We are both great teams, like in the other semi-final. I don’t understand why people say such things because whether we’re the favourites or not is completely irrelevant.”
The 64-year-old said his final message to the players would be to embrace the occasion as Spain bid to secure a place in the World Cup final.
“I tell the players that we need to enjoy ourselves; we’re in a situation that might never happen again,” De la Fuente said. “We have to be ourselves, be aware of the opposition’s strengths and believe we can go through. We’ll give everything to reach the final.”
