De La Fuente: ‘Morata a tough man, Spain could have beaten Italy 5-0’ at EURO 2024 | OneFootball

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente insists La Roja could have beaten Italy 5-0 at EURO 2024 and praises Milan striker Alvaro Morata: ‘He may seem fragile, but he’s a strong and tough man.’

De La Fuente released an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport revealing that a 1-0 win over Italy at EURO 2024 last summer was a turning point for Spain, who would go on to lift the trophy in Berlin.

“Internally, we were convinced we’d fight to win. The game against Croatia was complicated despite an excellent start,” he said.

“The key was the match against Italy. If we had lost, rumours would have started again. It was the time to say ‘We are here’ and we could have won 5-0. I still think Italy is a great national team, and that match made us understand our worth. That win was a massive boost, and we used that energy against Germany, France, and England.”

De La Fuente: ‘Morata a tough man, Spain could have beaten Italy 5-0’ at EURO 2024

Spain became the first country to win the Euros four times. At the end of the Euros, their captain, Alvaro Morata, joined Milan and opened up about his fight against depression.

Therefore, De La Fuente feels that the new Milan star set the example for his teammates and ordinary people.

“Alvaro strengthened the group by making his fragility public,” said the coach.

“He humanized the image of a successful sportsman who must be a superman in the collective imagination. Alvaro may seem fragile, but he’s a strong and tough man who had to overcome enormous adversity. Others wouldn’t have made it.

“I was aware of what he was going through, and this united us, strengthening our rapport, which goes beyond the player-coach relationship. I felt something deep for someone fighting against big things.”

Morata scored on his Milan debut against Torino in August but sustained a muscle injury which forced him to the sidelines in the following games against Parma and Lazio.

The 31-year-old has signed a contract until 2028 at San Siro.