Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao, market value around 28 million euros): The Spaniards’ most controversial position in the media is that of goalkeeper. For coach De la Fuente, however, it is clear that Unai Simón has his trust. This is met with incomprehension by some fans and the media, as he may be leaving out two goalkeepers who are statistically having a better season. So Joan García and David Raya will probably have to stay on the bench. It’s hard to believe that the coach will change his mind before the World Cup, but if Simon is unable to repay the trust with performance, the unrest surrounding the position will not subside.
After the Spanish Football Association finally parted ways with Luis Enrique following his elimination in the round of 16 of the 2022 World Cup, they installed Luis de la Fuente as a long-term solution. The now 63-year-old had plenty of experience. Both as a player and as a coach, he worked in La Liga for Athletic Bilbao and Deportivo Alavés before spending more than ten years in Spain’s youth ranks.
Luis de la Fuente also has experience as a trainer in front of a global audience. At the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021, he led the Spanish squad to the final. In this they narrowly lost to Brazil. Since being appointed head coach of the senior national team in 2023, he has increasingly stabilized “La Roja” and experienced his personal career highlight with the European Championship title in 2024.
De la Fuente continued to stick to the basic 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 structures. Systems that are very flexible overall and can therefore be easily adapted to the respective opponent. Nevertheless, a development away from the typical Spanish “Tiki-Taka” football can be seen, which is particularly characterized by ball possession and control of the game through a fast and direct short passing game. The basic idea is that Spain is still focused on possession of the ball, but once they win the ball they should quickly go deeper. This puts the outside players like Yamal and Williams in one-on-one situations. With speed they can then attack the penalty area independently and look for shots or set the scene for the advancing players in the penalty area. Even when you have the ball, the game should be drawn out more in length and breadth in order to create dynamics.
