European Championship quarter-finals: Spain’s respect grows with every minute

For Spain’s national team, the quarter-final against Germany in Stuttgart is also a game against history. Spain has never beaten the hosts or even scored a goal at a European Championship. At the 1980 European Championship, they only managed a goalless draw against Italy. Four years later, the Spanish (after eliminating Germany) lost the final 2-0 to Michel Platini’s France.

In 1988, Spain lost 2-0 to Germany, which was the last time that they lost a competitive match against Germany. In 1996, the Spanish lost to eventual finalists England (on penalties), and in 2004 they lost 1-0 to Portugal. What does that mean? Nothing, said Spain’s coach Luis de la Fuente on Thursday evening in Stuttgart. They will play as they always do: “With joy, with confidence, with security. We have a lot of football and a lot of potential.”

The DFB team’s quarter-final opponent has demonstrated this impressively so far in this tournament, with some brilliant performances coupled with almost flawless results. They only conceded one goal, and that was scored by the Spaniards themselves (an own goal by Robin Le Normand against Georgia). But: The respect for the German team grows with every minute that passes.

He never said that Spain had a better team than Germany, De la Fuente stressed at the press conference before the big duel. In any case, he would not swap his players “for anyone, for me personally they are the best in the world”. In other words: He would not even want to naturalize Toni Kroos. Although he demands the utmost respect from him. “We wanted to ask UEFA to tie his feet together, but I don’t think they will allow it,” said De la Fuente jokingly.

He finds it less funny that his team has recently been showered with praise. “We have received so much praise that I would like to put it all into context: This is a final – and a very evenly matched one.”

Dani Carvajal criticises the high workload for the professionals at the European Championship

As far as the line-up is concerned, De la Fuente was as tight-lipped as ever. When he tried to get him to say whether Leipzig’s Dani Olmo would be in the starting eleven, he laughed it off almost without comment. He only said this much: “Dani Olmo is superbly prepared. Like everyone else.” One person who will definitely play is right-back Dani Carvajal, who at 32 is one of the older players in the Spanish squad. The Real Madrid professional emphasised the balance between the two teams, expressed his deep respect for the hosts and was certain that there would be a “hot” atmosphere in the stands in Stuttgart. Above all, Carvajal had a few messages of greeting for the hosts, UEFA.

In terms of motivation, he is at the highest level and hopes that the tournament will end with his team reaching the final in Berlin. “I will go out onto the pitch tomorrow and want to eat up my opponent,” assured Carvajal. But he actually feels like he is on holiday: “It is impossible for the players to maintain their level if they have to play every three days. Carvajal stressed that both UEFA and the world association FIFA should bear in mind that no player can play sixty games a year.”