Ahead of the match against hosts Germany, De la Fuente said that playing at home is not always an advantage because the responsibility is great and any team wants to not let down its fans.
“I think at these high levels of competition, the so-called home advantage is not a decisive factor and does not have any major impact,” De la Fuente said at a news conference on Thursday.
“We have experienced players and they will not be intimidated by any hostile atmosphere. It will be a normal football atmosphere that we are very used to. I don’t think it will have any effect at all,” he added.
“I’m also not sure if it’s beneficial or not, sometimes that pressure is against the home team and if things don’t start well, the fans can have a positive impact on us. We will play the game as we have done so far, with joy and confidence,” he continued.
Only three countries have won the European Championship as host nation (Spain 1964, Italy 1968, France 1984) and three others have played a final on home soil, but lost (Portugal 2004, France 2016 and England 2020).
History is also not on Germany’s side in Friday’s match as Spain have not been defeated in a tournament match since 1988, a winless run that included a 6-0 defeat in the 2020 Nations League.
Despite Spain’s strong showing in their four straight wins so far at Euro 2024 and their previous success against Germany, De la Fuente said the tie would be evenly matched.
The difference, according to the Spaniard, may be the individual talent of some players, such as German midfielder Toni Kroos.
Kroos, 34, may be playing the last match of his brilliant career as he plans to retire after the tournament.
“I will ask UEFA if I can tie his legs together for this match,” De la Fuente joked. “Kroos is a top player. It’s a shame he’s not playing. We know what Kroos does and we will try to limit his passes. That’s what we can do because they won’t let us tie his legs. It’s an early final and I hope we qualify.”
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