De la Fuente: “Adama? With the weights I would be hard to crack …”

Luis de la Fuente, U21 coach, spoke at a press conference, prior to the match that Spain will play against Kazakhstan in Alcorcón on Tuesday (6:45 pm, Four).

What have you focused on to improve: “We continue working on general concepts. When I talk about improving, it is a circumstance that we always try. There is room for improvement. We would like to have more completion, score more goals and that little by little the team is assembled. The other day there were phases of very good game, it begins to be seen that we work as a team. But it is the phase to improve, to be more compact. Give that feeling of knowing each other better. There has been a lot of player movement and that is an inconvenience, but we have to overcome that ”.

Brahim: “He is very well considered within the entire organization chart since he was in the U-17. It is a position that must be earned in the field, vindicated. Both at your club and with us. It is doing. He really wants to continue growing. He is very happy, content. The other day was decisive but he has a lot of room for improvement and he is aware. It is an aspect that we celebrate because you want to do it and you understand it. If you have minutes you will get it ”.

Adama Traoré phenomenon: “Adama was no surprise. We have followed him a lot in past seasons. I know him very well. The football and physical potential is extraordinary. He says he would like to run the 100 meters, but hey… We would have a tough fight, lifting weights I would be hard to crack (laughs). You want to improve and grow. It takes care of itself because its constitution demands it. It is a detail of a great professional ”.

Óscar Rodríguez and Zubimendi: “The most important thing is to see how they started last year with hardly any prominence and this year they are consolidated. That is cause for joy because they are growing. Surely between now and March they will be very important in your club and with us. Both one and the other celebrate their moment of form. If they are here it is because they earn it, we do not give anything to anyone. We are in that phase of consolidating the team and seeing as many players as possible. Then it will be time to close the team ”.

Extra for certifying the classification: “We try to make them aware of the responsibility we have. This game is very important. It has the connotation of being able to classify ourselves directly. I hope to see a better version than the previous game, that they grow, get that cohesion. We want to give a good image and I am sure. We've been together for seven days and it seems like more. From the first day to today it is a different team, they are surprised by the things they do because it is a very good group “.

Expected level: “It is not the best moment of the team, they have been unemployed for a long time and they are working under difficult circumstances. In another situation it would have helped us to continue growing. Even so, they have grown a lot. With the continuity they have in their clubs, it helps them to continue progressing. I hope that as the months go by they continue to grow. I am very optimistic, there is a lot of potential in this generation. It makes me very optimistic for the future. When I see them play, I see that they are very good footballers ”.

Riqui Puig: “It happens with all the players. When we have opportunities to train with them, your potential surprises you. It is not the same to see him in a match than to see them train every day. Every day that we train I am pleasantly surprised by how good they are, Riqui and everyone. You discover new things. We lack that time to be able to work and assemble that team, because individually they are exceptional ”.