Gvardiol To Challenge Yamal
Spain’s young winger Lamine Yamal might face a tough opponent in Croatia’s Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol if coach Zlatko Dalic deploys him at left-back to neutralize Yamal’s threat. “Josko has had a really good season at Man City, he’s one of our key players,” Dalic said. “He’s capable of stopping any attacker on the Spain team. I hope he will stop Pedri, Yamal, and all the others.”
Focus on the Present
Rodri Hernandez, Gvardiol’s teammate at Manchester City and a leader for Spain, emphasized the need to take the tournament one step at a time. Spain is aiming for their fourth European Championship title, having last won in 2012. “We know the history of Euros and we’re here to go after our fourth,” Rodri said. “I don’t like thinking about the long term, I just want to focus on the game tomorrow.”
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Rodri highlighted Spain’s recent performances against top teams as evidence of their strength. “We were competitive against Brazil, we beat Italy and Croatia at the Nations League (in 2023),” he noted. “These tournaments come down to small moments and we need to improve in these moments.”
Keeping Grounded
Coach Luis de la Fuente is committed to keeping his young players grounded. Lamine Yamal, despite his rising stardom, revealed last week that he would still be doing his school homework during the tournament. “We’re trying to treat the situation normally, but also trying to explain that by being humble he will develop so much more,” De la Fuente explained as reported by Sports Buddy.
The coach stressed the importance of humility and continued education for the young talent. “If there are bad moments, things can fall away fast and there’s huge criticism,” De la Fuente said. “That goes at his club as well. We’re enforcing the education and training from his club. He is a special footballer.”
