Luis de la Fuente believes he has the "best team and the best players" at Euro 2024 as Spain aim to down hosts Germany in the quarter-finals.
Spain have won all four of their matches so far while conceding just once, an unfortunate own goal from Robin Le Normand before they came from behind to hammer Georgia 4-1 in the round of 16.
La Roja are the only team with a 100% winning record at this stage and have even drawn comparisons to the squad that won back-to-back editions of the Euros in 2008 and 2012.
While De la Fuente is not getting ahead of himself, he has no doubt his side can pose Julian Nagelsmann's team problems in Stuttgart on Friday.
"We are ambitious, and we knew that no one has won the first four matches of a Euro," De la Fuente said.
"We have the best team and the best players. We are going to fight for it, and we know what we have ahead of us, which is Germany.
"There is quality, commitment and confidence. The next opponent is a powerhouse, with great players. It is a well-known German machine. It will be a very close match, but we are very confident of our game.
"Now the eight best in Europe are there and what determines whether you are a strong team is knowing how to row and push at the right moment. The difficulty increases with each match and now Germany awaits."
Meanwhile, Germany seem to have put recent major tournament woes behind them as they cruised into the last eight with a comfortable 2-0 win over Denmark.
Nagelsmann's team have scored 10 goals in four games at Euro 2024 so far, with their goals per game average (2.5) their highest at a major tournament since their triumphant 2014 World Cup campaign (2.6).
With Spain being tipped as the slight favourites in this tie, Germany captain Ilkay Gundogan does not think the hosts should be written off so fast.
"We should not be hiding against Spain," said Gundogan. "As a team we can more than keep up with them. We also have extreme qualities.
"I think the Spaniards have more respect for us than they tend to admit in public."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Spain – Lamine Yamal
Lamine Yamal has provided two assists for Spain at Euro 2024, becoming just the third teenager on record (since 1980) to provide multiple assists at the competition, after Enzo Scifo (1984) and Cristiano Ronaldo (2004).
The 16-year-old Barcelona winger is also the only Spain player on record to create 10+ chances and complete 10+ dribbles in a single edition of the European Championships.
Germany – Jamal Musiala
Jamal Musiala has scored in three of Germany's four games at this tournament, finding the net three times from just seven shots overall.
He is currently joint-top in the race for the Golden Boot, while the only player to score more goals in a single edition of the tournament while aged 21 or younger was Wayne Rooney for England in 2004 (four).
MATCH PREDICTION: SPAIN WIN
While the Opta supercomputer is leaning more towards this game heading to extra time or even penalties, Spain are given the slight advantage to advance from this tie, with 37.2% to Germany's 34.7%.
This will be the fourth meeting between Spain and Germany at the European Championships, with Spain winning two (1984 and 2008) to Germany's one (1988). Their last such meeting was in the 2008 final with Spain winning 1-0 thanks to a Fernando Torres strike.
These sides last met in the 2022 World Cup when they played out a 1-1 draw in the group stage, extending Spain's unbeaten streak over Germany to four matches in major tournaments (winning two, drawing two).
However, no host nation has ever been eliminated from the quarter-final stage of the Euros from the four previous instances. England won a penalty shootout against Spain in 1996, the Netherlands beat Yugoslavia 6-1 in 2000, Portugal beat England on penalties in 2004, and France defeated Iceland 5-2 in 2016.
Germany are also unbeaten in their last eight games against La Roja on their own turf (winning five and drawing three) since losing their first meeting with Spain on home soil (2-1 in a 1935 friendly).
Nagelsmann's men are also competing in their 19th major tournament quarter-final (14 at World Cups, five at the Euros); they have won all four previous matches at this competition (1996, 2008, 2012, 2016).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Spain – 37.2%
Draw – 28%
Germany – 34.7%
Everton 'can't keep leaking goals', says Dyche
Sean Dyche has criticised Everton’s ‘leaky’ defence following a second defeat after going two-nil up in back-to-back games.
Everton lost 3-2 to Aston Villa after leading by two goals after 30 minutes, having also lost 3-2 to Bournemouth after leading by the same advantage prior to the international break.
In doing so, Dyche’s side became only the second side in Premier League history to lose back-to-back games after leading by two or more goals in both.
Following Saturday’s defeat to Villa, Dyche feels his side are lacking the cutting edge at vital moments.
“Today, we make a mistake and they capitalise on it. I said to the players, the killer instinct in both boxes is what’s vital. The key moment was to go 3-1 up. We didn’t and we made a mistake, and they capitalised on it. We have to keep going,” he told Sky Sports.
“We’re making high-quality chances. At the minute, we’ve got to score as many as it takes to win a game. That’s been a challenge since I’ve been at the club. We can’t keep leaking goals like that.
“We’re having to manipulate the team. We have to keep believing in each other. You’ve got a responsibility to deal with it – and that’s what we have to do, including me.
“[The players] are an honest group. They’ve worked very hard and been through a lot. We are where we are, so they’re very disappointed. We have to respond. Before you know it, Tuesday will be upon us.”
Everton have struggled with injury so far this season and find themselves increasingly short at the back.
Vitaliy Mykolenko had to be substituted after 26 minutes against Villa due to injury and was replaced by James Garner, traditionally a midfielder.
“We’re certainly taking some knocks at the minute. Every mistake seems to be a goal, and every chance we don’t quite capitalise on,” reflected Dyche.
“Unfortunately we were on the wrong side of the margins again today. It’s a tough one to take, for different reasons than the last game. We’re down to a low squad anyway, so it’s been a challenge without a shadow of a doubt.”
Shakhtar CEO expecting big move for Sudakov
Shakhtar Donetsk CEO Sergey Palkin believes Giorgi Sudakov will go onto big things if he can produce more stand-out performances in the Champions League.
The 22-year-old is thought to be one of the rising stars in European football, having helped Shakhtar to the Ukrainian Premier League in the last two seasons.
He was also one of the standout players of Ukraine's Euro 2024 campaign, creating the third-most chances (four) and having the most shots (nine), though he failed to hit the back of the net as they exited in the group stage.
With the start of their next Champions League campaign just around the corner – they kick off against Bologna on Wednesday – Palkin is expecting big things from the young midfielder.
Speaking at the Thinking Football Summit organised by Liga Portugal, Palkin said: "Everybody knows about Sudakov.
"I believe he is the new European star. Half a year ago, we had negotiations with Napoli. They proposed €40million. But we believe that he costs much more.
"Therefore, we believe that in this Champions League, he will show his best. Because he has the dream to play in a top-ranked European club.
"If he shows good football, I believe he will jump to this club".
Martinez: Duran can be 'the best in the world'
Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez believes match-winner Jhon Duran can be “one of the best strikers in the world” after he scored a 30-yard screamer against Everton.
Duran completed Aston Villa’s comeback in a 3-2 win against Everton at Villa Park, having been two goals down to the visitors after 27 minutes.
The Colombian was subbed on after 69 minutes and scored just seven minutes later. All three of his goals this season have been winners from the bench, meaning he has now scored the most winners as a substitute in a Premier League season ever.
Having witnessed his decisive impact today, Martinez believes he can be one of the best in the game.
"I have seen it from behind and I saw the ball moving - it was unstoppable,” the Argentine told Sky Sports, referencing his goal.
"It was a great strike. We have been trying to help Duran in the Premier League and if he can keep the consistency, he can be a really big threat.
"He can be one of the best strikers in the world, but he needs to keep his feet on the ground and to work hard. He has one of the top strikers [Ollie Watkins] in England playing in front of him."
His fellow striker Ollie Watkins scored a brace to bring Villa level against Everton prior to Duran’s strike.
It was the first time he had scored for the club since April 2024, though he had clearly been getting in the right positions. Before his first goal of the game, he had the highest xG total (1.58) in the league among those yet to score.
Watkins had a shortened pre-season after starring for England at Euro 2024.
“There’s such a quick turnaround from the Euros. A lot of the boys are getting back up to fitness,” Watkins told Sky Sports.
“I’m not at 100%. I took some time off during the international break. I don’t want to miss too many matches, though.
“I’m disappointed I didn’t get the hat-trick. I should be coming off with the match ball, but I’ll settle for the two.
“We were obviously unlucky against Arsenal. We’re delighted we got [the win] today. Now we focus on the Champions League, which everyone is looking forward to.”
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