Luis de la Fuente constantly claims he has the best team in the world, but that seems like an exaggeration. But as it happened, La Roja entered Georgia without one of the best forwards on the planet, Lamine Yamal, who finished second in the last Ballon d’Or voting. Rodri, winner of the France Football Magazine award in 2024, was also missing. In addition to a player as unbalanced as Nico Williams and others in the hierarchy of Carvajal and Le Normand, one of the fittest midfielders on the planet like Pedri had to be added to the list of absences. However, even without their key players, Spain crushed Georgia (0 wins, 4 losses) with 19 points in favor and 0 points against, as they had already done in the other four matches of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. It is then that not only the statistics but also the game seem to prove de la Fuente right, especially now that he is at the top of the FIFA list as the best team in the world.
“These injuries give other players opportunities that they would not have had under other circumstances. That is the success of Spanish football. We can enjoy that because every club is producing better players. It takes a lot of effort on the part of the clubs, the players and the federation to select them,” De la Fuente said. But de la Fuente’s team has a more impressive brand, perhaps more important. La Roja reached a 30-game unbeaten streak (25 wins, 5 draws) and set the record for Vicente del Bosque’s side as world champions (2010) and European champions (2012), which is considered the best in Spain’s history. “There’s a huge reason why I’m so proud of these players. I’m lucky to coach players of this historic caliber, but there’s still a long way to go. I’m very happy to be able to coach this group of young players who are relentless in their efforts to improve,” the coach said.
La Roja now face Turquier in Seville next Tuesday, but must lose by seven goals to avoid confirming direct qualification to the World Cup. In any case, there is strict vigilance in the locker room. “Out of respect for our rivals, we have great respect for all teams and for Turkey, but we have to keep our feet on the ground and maintain this attitude until it is mathematically no longer possible,” stressed de la Fuente. Coach Oyarzabal intervened: “Things have to go badly wrong, but we prefer to wait. We will finish the game without conceding a goal, as we have always done.” The Real Sociedad striker scored a double against Georgia and has already scored 21 goals, one more than the Zara team (251 goals) who are the top scorers in the Spanish league.
“The classification is not mathematical, but we are focused on the last game. We are confident,” interjected Ferran Torres, another striker who is in good form for de la Fuente’s Roja. The Barcelona attacker scored his 23rd goal, reaching the record shared by Sergio Ramos and Di Stéfano, and becoming the ninth top scorer in the history of the Spanish team. He has his sights set on Butragueño’s 25 goals. “My dream is to be in the top 10 scorers and join legends like Di Stéfano and Ramos. We must never stop being ambitious, so we want to aim for more goals and move up the rankings,” said Ferran.
The only bad news for de la Fuente is the loss of Huisén, another absence for La Roja. “He is feeling a little discomfort. As always, the first priority is to take care of the player and we have proven that once again. We have had perfect communication with the Real Madrid doctors and we thought it would be best for him to rest,” the coach concluded. And he added that he is already thinking about Sevilla: “I hope the stadium presents a special image. I hope it has a typical Sevilla atmosphere, because these players deserve it and they will also qualify for the World Cup.”
About The Author
