De la Fuente: If the referee was really as bad as Deschamps said, then both sides suffered.

After leading his team to a 2-0 victory over France in the World Cup semi-final and advancing to the final, Spain's head coach, De la Fuente, attended a press conference. This article is the second part of the press conference.

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[De la Fuente: To me, Spanish players are the best footballers in the world]

[De la Fuente: I said it a long time ago, questioning Rodri is an insult to intelligence]

Hello, Luis, please allow me to ask you a question first. My colleague told me that after the match, he saw a player limping towards the stands. I'd like to know if he's alright, and how Pedro Polo is doing? Then, a related thought: this team has been in closed training for a month and a half, and I think everyone's performance has been exemplary. There are several players here who have recently changed clubs, and they're spending almost every day with their families. Could you tell me about the concept behind all of this? How is the behind-the-scenes work of this training camp arranged to ensure everything goes so smoothly?

Okay, I think the most important thing is knowing how to choose travel companions. If you make the wrong choice, you might run into trouble on your trip, and we've always been very careful about this. We know that this team includes not only the football players, but everyone who makes up our expedition; we're all working towards a common goal. We share the same vision, and as I've emphasized, we're a group of generous, ordinary people who want to put the common good above personal interests, which makes the journey much smoother.

I've never seen such exemplary behavior from this team on the pitch before. And off the pitch, no one has either, as you astutely pointed out—we've been together for 47 days now—if I remember correctly—without a single problem. But I want to reiterate, the most important thing is knowing who you're traveling with, and we have the best team. Oh, no, Yamal is perfectly fine; as far as I know, I just spoke with the doctor. Pedro Polo seems to have some muscle overload, but we'll reassess him tomorrow.

Hello, Luis. Deschamps has admitted that Spain was better and played better in this match, but he seemed to be making a veiled criticism. He brought up the referee's issues, questioning whether the referee's decisions were worthy of a World Cup semi-final. Does that surprise you?

Well… everyone can always find excuses when things don't go their way. Of course, we've also had our share of difficult moments regarding refereeing decisions, which sometimes reminds us of the match against Uruguay. And in that situation, I think the referee's leniency definitely played a role; I believe it's crucial to maintain control of the game and prevent it from spiraling out of control.

But if it's really as Deschamps says, then we both lost out, and I absolutely don't think there was any bias, quite the opposite. In fact, they even disallowed one of our goals, and some cases were very close calls, especially some offside decisions. Anyway, I'm not thinking about the refereeing right now. I really hope everyone can improve—the refereeing team, VAR, ourselves, and everyone involved in this football extravaganza. Hopefully, we can all get a little better every day, that's all.

Hello Luis, this is obviously a very emotional night, but I'd like you to tell me what the tactical message you gave the lads before they went on the pitch? We all assumed that against France we had to be very cautious with our passing, without making any mistakes, but Spain didn't play conservatively at all. Instead, they were aggressive, delivering penetrating passes and turning to break through defenses, which caused a lot of damage to the French team. In a game like this tonight, what tactical instructions could you give them?

You see, we have no doubt that if we just play our own game, we'll inflict significant damage on France. We'll look for space, break through the first line of defense, and find those players who make perfect runs and jump out to press. We know the French team very well, we know their immense potential. But at the same time, we also know how to break them down, how to counter-attack.

The players executed the entire tactical arrangement with genius, which is largely due to their contribution. Because later on the field, no matter how much you tell them, if they lack the ability to discover, create, and utilize those spaces, and if they don't possess their exceptional footwork, then the tactics on paper and the arrows drawn are essentially worthless. The most important thing is that this team perfectly executed every consecutive movement of the game; I believe this is the most crucial and essential point.

But there's one detail I think I've reiterated before: the message is clear—this team is incredibly focused and driven by a strong sense of mission. We've said it, and I've commented on it, and the impact of this statement is far more profound than it sounds. No matter how many times I repeat it, I believe you'll give it much more thought. The message is: we're facing one of the best national teams in the world, but they're facing the best team in the world—that's the key. This is a team, and when you have a true team, you're unstoppable. That's how we feel right now.

Hello, congratulations on qualifying for the final. I'd like to ask you, as the head coach of such a special team, how much do you value this achievement? Based on tomorrow's result, which opponent would you like to face on Sunday? How important is it whether Argentina or England wins? Could you briefly summarize which one you prefer, or talk about the differences between them?

No, it's like this... Yesterday we were talking about how the Spain vs. France match could be a final played out in advance. But I also commented that the Argentina vs. England match is another final played out in advance. This isn't without reason; as you know, we have the top four FIFA ranked national teams all at this stage. This has never happened before in history, demonstrating the enormous football potential in this tournament.

Believe me, we're not talking about preferences right now. It's the same for everyone; every team has its own characteristics. Obviously, Argentine football is different from English football, and European football is different from South American football. Because of my friendship with Lionel Scaloni, I'm excited and looking forward to playing against Argentina. But I also have great respect for England's football potential; before I came to this tournament, I think I mentioned that I considered England one of the real contenders for the title. It will be a very intense match between two excellent teams. But whoever comes to us, we'll welcome them with open arms, that's all.