Spain deserved win, says De la Fuente who now has Germany in his sights

Spain enjoyed almost total control of Sunday's Euro 2024 win over Georgia and were now looking forward with confidence to a quarterfinal against Germany, coach Luis de la Fuente said.

Spain came back after conceding an own goal to beat Georgia 4-1 in their last-16 tie at the Düsseldorf Arena on Sunday and were praised by their coach for an efficient performance.

“I think we controlled the game at all times with brilliant stages of play against an opponent that defended really well and was good on the counter attack,” De la Fuente said.

“We need to properly value how important this victory is, because our opponent was a really good team.”

Spain fell behind when centreback Robin Le Normand turned Otar Kakabadze's bouncing cross into his own net but were level at half time before going on to dominate the second half.

“We knew Georgia's danger came from the transition and counterattack, but they didn’t have any shots on goal,” De la Fuente said.

“Of course, when they scored we were a bit nervous for a while, but we created so many chances that the result could have been 8-1 to us.”

Spain take on hosts Germany in Stuttgart on Friday in the quarterfinals next.

“We have a lot of confidence and a team with talent, quality and commitment. Being convinced of your ability is very important. I don’t want to offend anyone but we have the best team at this tournament,” De la Fuente said.

“Germany is a fantastic team, they have some of the best players in the world and they are very organised, very disciplined. But they will face a team that is very similar to them, very committed, very well organised, difficult to overcome, hungry with lots of ambition.

“I know it's the usual thing to say but in football it's the small details that will decide the match and what happens in the end.”

Stylish Spain recovered from the shock of conceding an early own goal to eventually overrun a tireless Georgia .

After withstanding a near-constant early assault, with outstanding keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili making several good saves, Georgia stunned the crowd by taking the lead with their first attack after 18 minutes when Otar Kakabadze’s fizzing cross was diverted into his own net by the chest of Spain's Robin Le Normand.

The Spaniards levelled the last-16 contest through Rodri from the edge of the box in the 39th minute and, after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia almost scored a stunning second from near the halfway line for the tournament outsiders, Fabian Ruiz headed Spain ahead six minutes into the second half.

Spain continued to press and probe but the Georgians ran themselves ragged to keep them at bay until Nico Williams finally broke clear to slam in the third, with Dani Olmo neatly tucking home the fourth goal seven minutes from time to secure their fourth win of the tournament. 

Reuters