De la Fuente: We have the quality to overcome any opponent

Spain's head coach, Luis de la Fuente, exuded confidence once again following his team's 1-0 victory over Portugal in the World Cup Round of 16. He acknowledged it was a closely contested match but asserted that his squad possesses the quality to overcome any opponent and is now eagerly awaiting their quarter-final adversary.

"The truth is, it was a fantastic match, between two superb teams. As we discussed, this was a final before the final. We could have suffered at the end, but you saw that both teams showed a desire to win this game, a desire to do things in the best possible way. I believe we played a very solid match. As we always say, the important players are those who come off the bench and justify the hard work of all their teammates, because substitutions are crucial," de la Fuente began.

He then elaborated on the introduction of "super-sub" Mikel Merino and the instructions he was given upon entering the field.

"First, to play as he always does. His role is to help in the midfield, behind the striker and in attack, and to push forward as much as possible. Towards the end, we considered slowing the opponent's rhythm a bit, so we could enter extra time with the freshness needed when you've just come onto the pitch. The truth is, the contribution of the substitutes was magnificent, and that's our good fortune, to have 26 exceptionally talented players," the specialist added.

Finally, he was asked about their next opponent in the tournament, who will be determined by the clash between the USA and Belgium.

"At this stage of the tournament, as I said before, it doesn't matter to us who we face. The important thing is that we are here, we are happy to be at this stage of the competition. We enter this quarter-final with confidence, with great certainty, and we will give our all until the end. I believe we have the quality and the prerequisites to think that we can handle any opponent," the Spaniard concluded.