Spain may have already won the European Championship last year and booked a place in the Nations League semi-finals on Sunday, but the young side are determined to chase more glory, manager Luis de la Fuente said.
Spain edged the Netherlands 5-4 on penalties after the match ended 5-5 on aggregate at the Mestalla Stadium, setting up a blockbuster clash with France in the German city of Stuttgart on June 5.
De la Fuente said his team will battle until the end, regardless of the opposition, having beaten England 2-1 to clinch the Euro 2024 trophy in July.
Germany and Portugal will play in the other semi-final match in the Nations League.
“I think this national team is very young, it has a very long way to go and the important thing is the attitude of the players. They are insatiable, they want to keep competing, they want to compete to win,” De la Fuente told reporters.
“But these are details … I remember that two years ago some enlightened person said it was a minor competition. In the semi-finals, three world champions and one European champion. They can beat us, but we will fight. I hope there will be a national team for a long time, but you can’t win all the time.”
The Spaniard also had high praise for 19-year-old centre back Dean Huijsen.
Huijsen, who plays for English Premier League club Bournemouth, was born in Amsterdam and represented the Netherlands at the junior level before making the switch to Spain last year.
He made his debut against the Netherlands in the first leg on Thursday and received a hostile reception from the home crowd in Rotterdam before emerging as one of the top performers that night.
“He seemed to have been competing with us for a long time. He is a wonderful guy and brings a lot to the table. We are very happy. Another one who joins this cause and this family, which is growing all the time,” De la Fuente said.
