Spain's confidence grows, and De la Fuente declares himself: "Best in the world"

Spain arrived in North America for the World Cup. The convincing performance only came in the second phase, beating Austria. This is what coach Luis de la Fuente defines as "progressive improvement", even though "it is not a 38-round tournament".

The coach, however, understands that it is easy to implement improvements, largely due to the quality of the players.

"I believe that Roberto thinks the same about his players. With maximum respect for his opponents, but I allow myself the luxury of thinking that my players are the best in the world", said de la Fuente in a press conference this Sunday.

Earlier, before Spanish training, Rodri had praised the team's improvement.

"The group stage is one part of the tournament, and then the qualifiers are another. The important thing for me is to show the level in these types of matches, and that was also part of the players' maturity, understanding that. I believe the team is following an upward trend", he said.

Completing the praise for the players, Luis de la Fuente spoke in addition to technical quality. For them, the Spaniards' virtues involve emotional control and the team's tactical tuning.

"Comparing ourselves to such brilliant generations is a source of pride. All we need to do is become world champion", he responded regarding the comparisons with the 2010 Spanish team.

Keeping an eye on Portugal
De la Fuente believes that both Portugal and Spain have players who can define a result at any time. One of those athletes who can change the game is Cristiano Ronaldo.

"I'm a great admirer of Cristiano and players like him, with personality, tireless and wanting to be the best every day. You have to keep an eye on him in any circumstance. That doesn't mean we need to make an individual mark. But we always need to pay attention to him, because, at any moment, in many matches, he's the best. I would prefer if he didn't play, but that's it. Let's enjoy the show. We will be superior to them and to him", projected the Spanish coach.

Portugal and Spain play this Monday, at 4pm (Brasília time), at AT&T Stadium. The winner advances to the quarterfinals and takes on whoever passes between the United States and Belgium.

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Source: CNN