Football journalist and author Guillem Balagué looks ahead to Spain's clash with Uruguay in their final World Cup group game.
Luis de la Fuente gets underestimated by many, and every time, he finds a way to remind you why that’s a mistake.
After the Cape Verde draw, the numbers told the story: 64% possession, 426 touches in the final third, but no real depth or danger behind the defensive line. Spain did not excite, and De la Fuente knew it better than anyone. And was ready to find solutions.
He said it himself: “Against Saudi Arabia, we needed more intensity, more directness, more depth.” Crucially, he did something about it. Lamine started for the first time with Spain in a World Cup, Pedri, deeper than in the first game, and Dani Olmo together from the start, something Spain had never done before, and Baena giving width and aggression on the left.
Suddenly there were runners in behind, sharp passing, fluidity, possession was recovered early. Suddenly Spain looked like Spain again.
Everything came together. Oyarzabal was the individual story — two goals and an assist in the first 24 minutes, a record contribution at this stage in World Cup history — but to understand why he had so much space, you have to look at what Lamine was doing. Drawing three defenders at a time, constantly, opening corridors for others to run into. That kind of mentality spreads through a team like a wild fire.
The formula had been recovered! And that means it would not be many changes against Uruguay, if any. Spain still needs to confirm their position at the top of the table. A draw would do. Finishing top of the group matters as it would likely mean avoiding Argentina in the knockout rounds.
On paper, Marcelo Bielsa’s side arrived as one of South America’s strongest teams. In reality, the relationship between the coach and his players has been broken for months, it is something visible to anyone paying attention. The federation knew it, chose continuity anyway, and now here we are: two games, no wins.
They need to beat Spain to stay in the tournament. A country that lives and breathes football, a squad with genuine quality, and yet they cannot find themselves on the pitch because the dressing room and the dugout have been travelling in completely different directions since long before this tournament began. Bielsa arrived with a vision of domination, possession, agression all over the pitch. But the players have not fully bought into it.
History also favours Spain. Uruguay have never beaten La Roja in 10 previous meetings — five Spanish wins, five draws. Oyarzabal warned against complacency, though: “We have to focus on ourselves and make sure nobody takes us away from our game,” he said this week.
Lamine might not finish the game but Nico Williams will get more minutes in his legs, both finding their best form after injury. This group stage has helped the big sides to get sharper.
The only thing that would trouble Spain is the worry Pedri is one yellow card from suspension. De la Fuente may bring Fabián Ruiz into midfield as protection. De la Fuente is firm enough to trust his ideas and flexible enough to know when to adjust them. But if it is not broken, don’t fix it, he will tell you too.
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