Speaking after the match, De la Fuente praised his players’ resilience while expressing frustration with both the officiating and the role of VAR. Although Spain progressed as group winners, he believed the officials should have done more to manage the physical nature of the contest.
“I still admire Marcelo Bielsa, matches are played by the footballers,” De la Fuente said. “It was going to be a very demanding match, and we have to accept the circumstances. It’s not the most comfortable type of match, but that’s what referees are for. They pushed us to the limit, played extremely rough, and we rose to the occasion.
“Every match is different. We certainly have other strengths and we admire other styles of play, but you have to win all kinds of matches. Without playing brilliantly, we rose to the occasion. It was extremely demanding, and we maintained a high level of concentration, avoiding falling for many provocations.
“Every day my players want to improve. In a match that was the complete opposite of the style of football we understand, they rose to the occasion. Refereeing is very difficult. I understand that there are tools, like VAR, that should help. I hope to play normal matches from now on. I don’t want to get into trouble and say anything about the referees.”
