USA or Belgium, this is who Spain coach Luis de la Fuente prefers in the quarters

Spain are one step closer to a second World Cup star after beating Portugal in the round of 16 match from Dallas. Now they will await the winner of the USMNT vs. Belgium game to find out their opponent in the quarterfinal match on Friday afternoon.

Subs make difference against Portugal

This is the closest that Spain have been to the final since 2010, when they won it all from South Africa. It was a stoppage time winner from Mikel Merino that pushed Spain through to the next round after 90 minutes of scoreless soccer. They looked like the better team for much of the match, but couldn’t break through the back line of Portugal nor best Diogo Costa in goal.

The match was broken open in the first minute of stoppage time by two substitutes made by manager Luis de la Fuente. Ferran Torres played a ball through to Mikel Merino and the Arsenal man tucked the winner home to send Spain through to the final eight.

De la Fuente spoke to the media after the match, and was quick to praise his guys that came off the bench. “The truth is, it was a fantastic match. An early final and we had to suffer right to the end. We put in a very complete performance; the key players are the ones coming off the bench.”

USA or BEL; doesn’t matter

Now Spain will take on the winner of Belgium vs. Spain game, and de la Fuente was asked who he prefers. His answer was predictably diplomatic. “At this stage, it doesn’t matter to us who we face; we’re happy to be in the quarterfinals and will give it our all until the very end. We have the qualities to make our opponents view us as the team to beat,” said the Spain manager.

De la Fuente took charge of Spain in December of 2022 shortly after Spain was eliminated from the World Cup in Qatar. Before being named the first team manager, he was a part of the younger Spain teams, working his way from the U-19s to the U-23s.

Since taking over in 2022, he has won the UEFA National League once, been runner up once, and won the UEFA European Championships. Now he has his eyes set on adding a World Cup to his trophy cabinet, but he will have to get through the quarters first.

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