Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has confirmed his team's full readiness ahead of their match against Saudi Arabia in the second round of Group 8 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, being held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
European champions Spain began their World Cup campaign with a disappointing goalless draw against Cape Verde, who are making their first appearance at a World Cup, while Saudi Arabia opened their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Uruguay, leaving all four teams level on 1 point.
De la Fuente said at a press conference that his players are eager for the Saudi Arabia match to deliver their best performance, following the lacklustre showing in their opening draw against Cape Verde.
The Spain coach revealed that his young star Lamine Yamal is enthusiastic about playing in the Saudi Arabia match, but that he does not yet know how many minutes he will be able to feature. He added: "We decide what is best for the team before the match. If he can start, that is wonderful. The important thing is that he has returned in full fitness — we have played without Lamine Yamal before and we played well."
The Spanish coach added: "Another match and we must win. I do not like the drama — we do not feel great tension or pressure, or that we are on the verge of collapse. Perhaps we felt disappointed, but that can motivate us because we are a competitive team."
De la Fuente explained: "Because of the way we play, we face teams that defend in a low block. Every team chooses its own way of playing, and we must play with greater speed — something we did not do against Cape Verde, and which we must do against Saudi Arabia. We want to recover our sharpness."
On his view of the Saudi Arabia team, the Spain coach said: "Saudi Arabia has improved at the competitive level. The national team has improved thanks to the contribution of many top players in the league, and competition and tactical aspects in the Saudi league have also developed. Because of these qualities they were able to beat Argentina. We must produce our best performance, otherwise we will be in danger, and we must analyse that at both the individual and collective level."