As Spain closed in on a national team record of 29 matches unbeaten, Luis de la Fuente noted how their latest defeat, against Scotland, made the team “better and stronger”.
Spain has not lost a competitive match (excluding penalty shootouts) since the 2-0 defeat to Scotland in European Championship qualifying in March 2023.
Since then, they are unbeaten in 28 matches and have won the European Championship title along the way.
And if they avoid defeat to Bulgaria on Tuesday, they will equal the record set by Vicente del Bosque’s Spain between 2010 and 2013.
Spain cannot seal their place at next year’s World Cup in October, but after winning all three qualifiers so far they will take a big step towards the final with a win in Valladolid.
Asked how the loss to Scotland affected La Roja’s impressive run, De la Fuente said: “It was a tough experience, but it made us better and stronger.
“And from an idea we built a structure. Sometimes a wall fails. Well, it is replaced. Sometimes setbacks in life give you momentum again.”
However, De la Fuente also played down his side’s similarity to Del Bosque’s, noting that his main goal is to improve Spain.
“We are different teams at different times. It is not easy to keep these records,” he added.
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“I’ve never talked to the group about what a win is [on Tuesday] means, because we are concerned with qualifying for the World Cup. But our work has always been based on taking it step by step, match by match.
“We had to compete every game. And this remains our mentality. We want to keep improving; it is the leitmotif of this group and we want to get better.”
Spain will be without Ferran Torres for the match against Bulgaria, with the striker returning to Barcelona after struggling with his hamstring.
De la Fuente confirmed he had not suffered a serious injury but dismissed the idea that his players are putting their club before their country.
“There is no injury, just discomfort,” he said of Torres. “We need players who work at 100% and in this case Ferran was not at his best and that is why he was left out of the squad.
“He is very important for the future. He will probably be at his best on Wednesday, but he will not be there.” [on Tuesday].
“Players know that the qualitative leap for players is to make the national team. When they come, their value increases.”
“And then the discomfort and injuries are another matter. When in doubt, the player’s health always comes first.”
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