Spain manager Luis de la Fuente – “Those who have to defend Lamine are the referees”

Spain manager Luis de la Fuente has once again defended his usage of players for the national team, pointing the finger at the club schedule rather than the international one for the number of injuries.

De la Fuente has faced no shortage of backlash for his handling of some players’ workload in recent months, and after Lamine Yamal limped off injured against Denmark, that blowback was loud again. Barcelona today confirmed an injury, although he is expected to be fit for their clash on Sunday.

Lamine Yamal is expected to recover in a few days. It's not serious. @FabrizioRomano

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) October 14, 2024

“I’m going to tell the truth. Lamine had discomfort at the end of the game. I asked him if he was going to be one hundred percent on Tuesday and there were doubts. Taking that into account, it’s better to rest. We have done it with others, he is no exception.”

He faced a number of questions about Lamine Yamal, and said that he had not been in contact with anyone from Barcelona about his usage. He also said that the 17-year-old’s commitment was complete, and that all the players he has had have been desperate to play.

“Those who have to defend Lamine are the referees, applying the rules. And the opponent will use all weapons to try to stop players as good as Lamine or other greats in history. Have you played football? Have you been kicked? Are you going to hold me responsible for kicking Lamine?”

De la Fuente continued to defend his position that it is not his responsibility to be resting players.

“What I think is the biggest pity is that is that there are people who get involved with these comments. I already said that the national team matches are one a month for the player. Last year we played 17 international matches, because we were lucky, and I think every Spaniard was happy, to reach the Euro final. But this year we will play 10. In two years, 27 games. One a month. Let’s stop going in circles. It’s one clash a month with the National Team on average, let’s stop making things difficult, the problem isn’t ours, [I hope] that they fix it and not pass the ball to us.”

La Roja face Serbia on Tuesday night in Cordoba at 20:45 CEST, and de la Fuente confirmed that if Spain did qualify, he would be going all out for top spot in their Nations League group, as opposed to experimenting or resting. He also revealed that he liked Alex Baena best centrally, although he was exceptional out wide too. Despìte the absences of Nico Williams, Lamine Yamal, Rodri Hernandez and Dani Carvajal, de la Fuente said he would be pursuing the same style of football.

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