Luis de la Fuente: “Football was fair today...”

Spain emerged victorious from the Iberian derby in the 2026 World Cup Round of 16, with manager Luis de la Fuente emphasizing the finely balanced nature of the contest, decided only by the smallest margins. He asserted, however, that his team's winning goal in stoppage time was a just reward for creating more opportunities.

“It was a very evenly matched game, just as we anticipated, knowing the footballing potential of our rivals. It felt like an early final, and honestly, it was a fantastic spectacle. At this level of competition, details make all the difference. Overall, we created more chances and posed more threats. Diogo Costa was one of the standout players,” he began, speaking to Sport TV, praising the Portuguese national team.

“I'm an admirer of Portuguese football and Portuguese players. What they achieved deserves immense credit; we are two very similar teams, possessing two of the best midfields in the world, and we demonstrated that today. We knew that if we were to replay this game tomorrow... the outcome could be different, because there's such parity, so much talent on the field that any player could decide it. Nothing is down to luck; it's hard work, a will to win, and we brought that onto the pitch, and football was fair today,” he stated, admitting that the ultimate goal is the final, but taking it one step at a time.

“We're focusing on the next game, taking it match by match, that's our approach. Each knockout round gets tougher, and the next one will be even harder than this. We need to be better than we were today. We want to keep growing and, obviously, reach the final,” he concluded.