The dozen graduates of Luis de la Fuente: from Joselu to Aleix García
The Spain of Luis de la Fuente is advanced, precocious and meritocracy prevails. He put the ticket to the German Euro Cup in his pocket with plenty of time to train a B unit that the coach wants to test. There is no Spanish player who, if he shines, is not in the eye of the coach, who does not hesitate to call them up and put them to play.. Since he joined the national team last March, twelve players have made their debut.. Last night, in Cyprus, Grimaldo, Riquelme and Aleix García.
«It was a match that offered this possibility. We wanted to see players who have earned it. We have a fantastic selection and everyone deserves merit.. “I'm just trying to be fair,” admitted De la Fuente, leaving behind that defeat against Scotland, which was blamed on the massive rotations.. Then the road to Germany began and yesterday the first place in the group could have been secured if the Scots had not snatched a last-gasp draw from Georgia.. With two points ahead and the goal difference in favor, it is almost impossible for Spain not to be seeded in the draw on December 2 in Hamburg.
Since March 25 against Norway in Malaga, new players have arrived in the national team, some to stay. Joselu, David García and Le Normand debuted before the Nations League, and the then Espanyol forward and the nationalized Real defender were champions. After the summer, Lamile Yamal arrived, in full bloom, Álex Baena, Fran García, Bryan Zaragoza, Sancet and Alfonso Pedraza. Without fear, De la Fuente has not hesitated to take players in peak form with his teams despite not having passed through Las Rozas before..
The coach would have liked to have returned from Cyprus with an injection of adrenaline in the form of a victory greater than 1-3. “If we had maintained the success of the first half, it might have happened, but we were not so brilliant in the second half,” he lamented, as well as Oyarzabal's injury, a muscle problem that makes him a doubt for Sunday's game against Georgia. in Valladolid.
That setback made everyone slow down against a much inferior rival whom Lamile Yamal, on the day he closed his final commitment to Spain, that third game that was long in coming, knocked out without the Cypriots having broken a sweat.. He has three international matches at the age of 16 years and 126 days and two goals. “I cut back until I was alone and I felt very comfortable throughout the game,” admitted the young Barça player.. The selection has been a balm for him in a turbulent week after Lewandowski's scandal.
The coach revolution had no better scenario. It was a game to graduate and that's what Álex Grimaldo did. With Gayà reserved, the Leverkusen full-back, the highest scoring defender in Europe at 28 years old, supported his wing, assisted Oyarzabal in his goal and even had the opportunity to try a shot. «It is a dream behind which there is a lot of work to achieve it. Now the reward has arrived,” admitted the Valencian. The competition at left back will be tough with Gayà himself, Balde or Fran García.
The injury to the Real Sociedad captain opened the door for Rodrigo Riquelme. «Hopefully it will be the first of many, but this selection is the highest level. I think I lived up to it and I enjoyed it a lot,” he confessed. He connected with another rookie, whom he knows well: Aleix García. «They are mechanisms that we already had in Girona. He has one of the best ball movements. “Who was going to tell us a year ago,” recalled the Madrid native. “It's easy to connect with players of such quality,” responded the midfielder to return the praise.. They have one game left and just a couple of friendlies left for the next step to come in the European Championship in Germany.