De la Fuente: "This team has a capacity for improvement beyond my imagination."
The Spanish national team was facing a complex stage like Turkey, facing a talented team that thrives on the support of its passionate fans. Not even that. Luis de la Fuente's team left Ottoman territory with six goals scored and none conceded, a memorable performance, three more points that significantly improve their qualification for the World Cup, and the feeling that it's difficult to play better football than Spain does day in and day out.
Nevertheless, the coach combined the pride he feels for his players with an ambitious plan to maintain, if not improve, their style of play and results. There's much room for improvement. "This is a team with a capacity for improvement beyond my imagination. This is an insatiable generation that always wants to win and win and win, and be better. But we're already thinking about what we need to do to improve next month," said the Riojan, who is confident his players will keep their feet on the ground. "That's something they have inside; it's an exceptional competitive gene. This generation is exceptional, but we have to proceed with great caution because we're in the process and there's still a long time left —specifically, nine months until the start of the World Cup. This group is normal, natural; they won't lose their feet on the ground."
Surprisingly, for De la Fuente, the match wasn't easy, given that "international football is much more evenly matched than club football. It's very difficult to achieve results like that. The team was brilliant, but it wasn't easy. We had to do a lot of things right," he concluded.
One of the players who performed more than well was Merino , recently discovered as a goalscorer and scoring the first hat trick of his career against Turkey. "I'm very happy about everything. For winning, for taking six out of six points on a very difficult pitch, and for scoring three goals, the first hat trick of my career," said the Navarrese midfielder, a midfielder with the soul of a striker since arriving in London. "I've been improving in my scoring capacity. Last year I played for Arsenal as a striker, and now it seems to be easier for me to play in that position."
His midfield partner Pedri also went unnoticed, adding two goals to another masterful performance in the midfield. "It was a well-rounded match; we brought the necessary intensity because it was a difficult match. We dominated and were superior," said the Canary Islander, who echoed De la Fuente's halftime admonition to not let themselves get carried away like they did against Bulgaria. "The coach told us at halftime to keep pushing, to look for more goals," one of which came from Pedri, completing another brace for Spain. "Every time I score for the national team, it feels like I'm scoring a double," he concluded.
Having barely made an impact after coming onto the pitch with the score at 6-0, it will be an unforgettable day in De Frutos 's life. "It was a splendid performance by the team, a dream debut. I tried to calm myself before coming on; I knew it was a very important moment in my life and I was a little nervous. But once on the pitch, these players with such quality make everything very easy."
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