Spain coach De La Fuente has explained the controversy over the abuse.
“Spain coach Luis de la Fuente launched a counterattack against critics after Lamine Yamal left the Spanish national team with a hamstring injury,” British media “Goalcom” reported on the 15th (Korea Standard Time).
Yamal has been in top form since the beginning of this year and played a pivotal role in Spain’s Euro 2024 victory this summer. However, Barcelona officially announced on Monday (Korea time) that “an examination of Ramin Yamal on October 14 showed a hamstring sprain in his left thigh. The timing of his return to training will be determined by his condition.”
De La Puente has been criticized for overusing Yamal. De La Puente, however, is not bothered at all. “Yamal felt a little uncomfortable at the end of the game. I spoke with him and he said on Tuesday that he didn’t think he was going to be 100 percent out of form and when in doubt, we always value the health of the player,” De La Puente told the media.
De La Puente went on to say, “He played because he had to, and it’s not up for debate anymore. The saddest thing is that there are people who take the bait. Let me be very clear. Last year, I was lucky enough to make it to the Euro final, where I played 17 A-matches, but this year I will only play 10 A-matches. That means I will play a total of 27 matches in two years, one a month.” 스포츠토토
Finally, he said, “I have a good relationship with Barcelona, but I have never spoken to any of the Barcelona players. He has honestly said that he is not feeling well, and I am grateful for his maturity to say that he is not 100 percent. I am grateful for that.”
If Spain defeats Serbia this time, it could advance to the knockout stages of the Nations League. De La Puente was therefore asked if he would rest his main players for the last two group games.
De La Puente said, “We want to be No. 1 and we will continue to demand the maximum from ourselves. We all want to win and we have to use the tools we have. But we are not kamikaze that puts the health of our players at risk.”