De la Fuente: France-Spain clash an early World Cup final

Spain national team coach Luis de la Fuente described the World Cup North America semi-final between France and La Roja on Tuesday in Dallas as “an early final,” asserting that his players are “capable of beating any national team.”

Speaking at a press conference after Spain’s 2-1 quarter-final victory over Belgium in Los Angeles, De la Fuente said, “It is no exaggeration to describe this match as an early final,” adding, with reference to the round of 16, which Spain won 1-0 against Portugal, “Our match against Portugal was also like that.”

He continued, “We are among the teams capable of reaching the final. We are now fully focused on France, and we fully recognize their immense potential, but we also know that we are the only team that has beaten them twice in semi-finals,” referring to the UEFA Euro 2024 semi-final (2-1) and the UEFA Nations League 2025 semi-final (5-4).

De la Fuente believed that “the match will be more open than ever. We need to raise our level of performance, and we will give everything we have,” adding, “France are at their best, and we have different playing styles. We respect our opponents greatly, but we feel capable of beating any national team.”

He also addressed his decision to start Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Fabian Ruiz instead of Barcelona star Pedri, after Ruiz scored Spain’s first goal against Belgium, explaining that the choice “was simply aimed at giving the national team a different face at a moment when we needed Fabian Ruiz’s energy,” emphasizing that “the issue of who starts is not the most important.”