Why this Spain side are a never-before-seen version

“The important thing is the collective. Everyone has their role in the match. What happened with Pedri can only be explained as a desire to give the team a different touch when we need a breath of fresh air for Fabián, who is another superstar. This is a team effort. It doesn’t matter who plays more, I repeat. We’re happy to have come this far, but we want more.”

That was the first question after the win over Belgium, a match in which Mikel Merino once again stood out. But so did Luis de la Fuente. Through his decisions before and during the game, he showed, once again, his most interventionist side. The substitution was the first thing he had to explain: Fabián Ruiz for Pedri. The move perfectly illustrated the kind of World Cup the coach wants: one in which his more interventionist side is fully on display. A Luis de la Fuente 2.0.

At the European Championship, the starting lineups were almost recited from memory. Apart from the procedural match against Albania, in which there was heavy rotation, De la Fuente made only two changes, and both were forced by circumstance: Jesús Navas replaced Dani Carvajal in the semifinal after Carvajal’s red card against Germany, and Dani Olmo came in for Pedri in the final two matches after the Tenerife-born midfielder was injured in the quarterfinals. The rest were settled: Unai Simón, Robin Le Normand, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella, Fabián, Rodri, Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Álvaro Morata were untouchable. The World Cup, however, has been a very different story.

It started from day one. The physical issues affecting key players such as Lamine and Nico, who came on in the second half, were a factor. But after that draw, in which Vozinha and Spain’s lack of fluency and cutting edge became the main talking points, De la Fuente began to shake things up. Not by changing one ingredient, but four. Lamine’s place in the starting lineup was non-negotiable, but everything else required careful tactical planning. Pedro Porro replaced Marcos Llorente to add more finesse in possession. Álex Baena came in for Gavi on the left flank to exploit the position with a specialist. And the biggest call of all: Olmo replaced Fabián. The coach did not hesitate to bench one of his heavyweights in order to bring in another.

Then, against Uruguay, Olmo himself was dropped to the bench despite being one of the standout performers in the rout of Saudi Arabia. De la Fuente wanted more muscle in midfield against a Uruguayan side that was always likely to drag the game into the mud, which is exactly what happened. That is why he started Merino and also restored Llorente to the lineup, searching for a more robust Spain, even if it meant sacrificing some freshness on the ball. The result was a tight match after which De la Fuente asked for protection for his players, saying, “We hope to play normal matches from now on.” But it was still a victory, and it came with a Baena goal as well. One of the coach’s major bets paid off again.

Against Austria, more changes followed, this time returning to the lineup used against Saudi Arabia, the one that had produced Spain’s most dominant display. From 4-0 to 3-0, Spain finally strung together two almost identical lineups for the first time in the tournament. And against Portugal, it was the same again. So against Belgium, many expected there would not be a third consecutive repeat.

Instead, there was one change. Which brings us back to the beginning: “What happened with Pedri can only be explained as a desire to give the team a different touch when we need a breath of fresh air for Fabián.” It was a vote of confidence in the return of the Andalusian, who had accepted his altered role with great professionalism, at the expense of the midfielder from Tegueste, who had looked less sharp than usual against Portugal. And it was Fabián who opened the scoring. Action and reaction.

That has become a recurring pattern in De la Fuente’s substitutions. If the PSG midfielder scored the first goal, the second came from Merino, barely two minutes after stepping onto the pitch. It was his second consecutive heroic intervention after Portugal. And that move set up another substitute: Ferran Torres. If Spain at the Euros was a team with very few buttons to press, this World Cup has shown a De la Fuente who is no longer afraid to leave his comfort zone. Correct, adjust, intervene. A De la Fuente 2.0.

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