Soccer-Spain deserved win says coach who now has Germany in his sights

Soccer Football - Euro 2024 - Round of 16 - Spain v Georgia - Cologne Stadium, Cologne, Germany - June 30, 2024 Spain's Alex Grimaldo with coach Luis de la Fuente before he comes on as a substitute REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen

DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) - Spain enjoyed almost total control of Sunday's Euro 2024 win over Georgia and were now looking forward with confidence to a quarter-final against Germany, coach Luis de la Fuente said.

Spain came back after conceding an own goal to beat Georgia 4-1 in their last-16 tie at the Duesseldorf Arena on Sunday and were praised by their coach for an efficient performance.

“I think we controlled the game at all times with brilliant stages of play against an opponent that defended really well and was good on the counter attack.

"We need to properly value how important this victory is, because our opponent was a really good team,” De la Fuente told a press conference.

Spain fell behind when centre back Robin Le Normand turned Otar Kakabadze's bouncing cross into his own net but were level at halftime before going on to dominate the second half.

“We knew that Georgia's danger came from the transition and counter attack, but they didn’t have any shots on goal," De la Fuente added.

"Of course, when they scored we were a bit nervous for a while, but we created so many chances that the result could have been 8-1 to us.”

Spain next take on hosts Germany in Stuttgart on Friday in the quarter-finals.

“We have a lot of confidence and a team with talent, quality and commitment. Being convinced of your ability is very important. I don’t want to offend anyone but we have the best team at this tournament,” said De la Fuente.

“Germany is a fantastic team, they have some of the best players in the world and they are very organised, very disciplined. But they will face a team that is very similar to them, very committed, very well organised, difficult to overcome, hungry with lots of ambition.

“I know it's the usual thing to say but in football it's the small details that will decide the match and what happens in the end,” he added.

(Reporting by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Ken Ferris)