De la Fuente embraces favourites label as Spain heads to World Cup amid hype

In an meeting with Reuters before the competition, he welcomed the favourites tag, viewing it as a long overdue pat on the back for a project he has committed his life to for more than a decade, rising through Spain's youth programmes to the senior side.

"We are delighted about that," De la Fuente said.

"It enables us to face this World Cup with great excitement, with the enthusiasm of those aiming to accomplish something major, of those who are never satisfied in their competitive drive and who wish to keep improving."

He is, however, cautious about overconfidence, careful not to mistake praise for any guarantee of success in a World Cup he believes may be so full of strong teams that no one can swagger in as if they have already won anything.

"If we think that being favourites assures anything, we are on the wrong path... it assures nothing!" he said.

"There are eight or ten teams where you think, 'They are absolutely top quality sides'. As good as ours? Surely! Do we feel as strong as them at this moment? Absolutely! But that assures nothing."

Spain begin Group H against World Cup debutants Cape Verde on June 15th, with De la Fuente confident that fitness worries about Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Mikel Merino are lessening.

Fitness concerns easing

Lamine and Williams suffered hamstring issues in mid April, while Merino has been out since January after having surgery on his right foot to fix a stress fracture.

"I believe they will all be available for the first match," he said.

"But that does not mean they will play. We might decide to give them less time on the pitch in that first game, or none at all."

For De la Fuente, the problem is not whether Spain arrive in good condition but whether they can cope with a competition he expects to test bodies as much as tactics.

The 2026 World Cup will be the first after expanding to 48 nations and will be held in three different countries: Canada, Mexico and the United States.

That is why, he said, Spain will treat their 26 man squad as a flexible group of players rather than having a fixed order.

"It will be a very unusual tournament, with high demands and little time for recovery," he said.

"A lot of tiredness, long trips, intense heat, different temperatures, humidity, time zones and so on. Fundamentally, it will take its toll physically.

"We will rotate as we think best at any moment, depending, of course, on the needs and the actual condition of each player. They all arrive in good shape and ready to start, if not the first match, then the second. But my main worry right now is that no injuries happen."

Spain's EURO 2024 victory raised expectations not only because they won but because they did so with lively, attacking football. De la Fuente accepts the responsibility but not as a weight.

"We take it all in our stride, and that is one of our strengths. We have always been aware of our potential but, at the same time, we realise that every match brings different challenges and that, alongside the responsibility we have for what we represent: which is very clear to us: there is another guiding idea: we go out there to enjoy ourselves, to do what we love. We are lucky to be able to earn a living from football."