SOCCER: Spain embrace favorites tag but De la Fuente warns World Cup offers no guarantees

Spain arrive at the World Cup as favourites and manager Luis de la Fuente, architect of the side who won the Euros in remarkable fashion two years ago, is in no mood to play down the hype.

Sitting down with Reuters before the tournament, he embraced the favourites tag as a long-overdue pat on the back for a project he has dedicated his life to for over a decade, working his way from Spain's grassroots programmes to the senior squad.

"We're delighted that's the case," De la Fuente said.

"It helps us approach this World Cup with great enthusiasm, with the enthusiasm of those who want to achieve something significant, of those who are insatiable in their competitive spirit and who want to keep improving."

He is, however, wary of complacency, not mistaking plaudits for any guarantee of success in a World Cup he believes may be too crowded with contenders for anyone to swagger in as if they have won anything in advance.

"If we think that being favourites guarantees anything, we're on the wrong track ... it guarantees nothing!" he said.

"There are eight or 10 teams where you say, 'They're absolutely top-class teams'. As good as ours? Of course! Do we feel as strong as them at this point? Of course we do! But that guarantees nothing."

SPAIN'S INJURY CONCERNS ARE EASING

Spain open Group H against World Cup debutants Cape Verde on June 15, with De la Fuente confident that injury concerns over Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Mikel Merino are easing.

Yamal and Williams sustained hamstring injuries in mid-April while Merino has been sidelined since January after undergoing surgery on his right foot to address a stress fracture.

"I believe they will all be available for the first match," he said. "That doesn't mean they'll play, though. We might decide to give them less playing time in that first match, or none at all."

For De la Fuente, the issue is not whether Spain arrive in good shape but whether they can survive a tournament he expects to test bodies as much as ideas.

The 2026 World Cup will be the first after expanding to 48 nations and will be played in three different countries - Canada, Mexico and the United States.

That is why, he said, Spain will treat their 26-man squad as a flexible pool of players rather than having a fixed hierarchy.

"It's going to be a very unique tournament, with high demands and little time for recovery," he said.

"A lot of fatigue, long journeys, intense heat, varying temperatures, humidity, time zones and so on. Fundamentally, it's going to take its toll physically.

"We will rotate as we see fit at any given moment, depending, of course, on the needs and the actual condition of each player. They all arrive in good shape and ready to start, if not the first match, then the second. But my biggest concern right now is that no injuries should occur."

Spain's 2024 Euro triumph raised expectations not only because they won but because they did so with vibrant, attacking football. De la Fuente accepts the responsibility but not as a burden.

"We take it all in our stride and that’s one of our strengths. We've always been aware of our potential but, at the same time, we realise that every match presents different challenges and that, alongside the responsibility we have for what we represent - which is crystal clear to us - there’s another guiding principle: we go out there to enjoy ourselves, to do what we love. We’re lucky to be able to make a living from football."

-Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Ken Ferris/Reuters