De la Fuente defiant after toothless opener, banking on Yamal and Williams to rescue Spain

ATLANTA, June 16 — Spain boss Luis de la Fuente said he is still convinced La Roja will go far at the World Cup despite failing to break down debutants Cape Verde in a 0-0 draw to open their tournament.

The European champions badly missed the spark of Lamine Yamal, who was deemed only fit enough for a second-half cameo on his return from injury, as they struggled to even create chances against a side ranked 67th in the world.

“We are completely calm, convinced that there is a long way to go. As we see it, we have seven games left,” said De la Fuente.

“We lacked freshness and precision.”

Spain are now 32 competitive games unbeaten, stretching back to March 2023.

But the lacklustre nature of the performance brought back painful memories of their meek exits to Russia and Morocco on penalties at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups when they dominated possession but failed to score.

“Tomorrow I’ll bring up that magic number,” added De la Fuente of his side’s long unbeaten run.

“We have to stick to our philosophy and get key players back that will play a crucial role as the tournament progresses.”

Yamal’s introduction immediately injected life into the Spain attack and lifted the majority of the nearly 70,000 crowd who were desperate to see the Barcelona superstar.

Yet, even he was snuffed out as Cape Verde doubled and at times even trebled up on the 18-year-old.

After an injury-plagued season at Athletic Bilbao, Nico Williams was also kept in reserve until the 87th minute.

“They are two game-changing players, but the ones we’ve had on the pitch are too. They bring different qualities to the table,” said De la Fuente.

“They will provide new options and the team will continue to grow. What we need to do is find our rhythm and the decisive touch required for this type of competition, which I have no doubt we will acquire.

“Lamine showed exactly what he’s capable of the moment he stepped onto the pitch, forcing the opposition to change their approach, but that was the amount of playing time we felt was right for him.

“Once we regain our chemistry and competitive edge, the team will be even better.”

Spain return to Atlanta for their second game against Saudi Arabia on Sunday before taking on Uruguay in Guadalajara. — AFP