The World Cup semi-final between Argentina and England promises to be an exciting affair. But ahead of that clash, Spain’s mastermind Luis de la Fuente has already expressed his hopes for the final. Having seen off France to reach Sunday’s final, the Spanish coach revealed he would prefer Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina as his opponent. There’s a battle to be settled on the pitch, but behind de la Fuente’s preference lies real emotion and a story of long friendship — one involving a “teacher” and his “beloved student.”
Spain secured their place in the World Cup final after defeating France 2-0 yesterday. They will now face the winner of the Argentina-England semi-final, kicking off at 1 am Bangladesh time today. Of these two potential opponents, Spanish coach Luis de la Fuente has said he would prefer to face defending champions Argentina in the final.
De la Fuente — who was Scaloni’s instructor during a Spanish Football Federation coaching course — made clear at the press conference that the match would be difficult regardless of the opponent, calling both semi-finalists “another final before the final.”
“I would have preferred to face Argentina in the final because of my friendship with Scaloni, but England are also a very difficult opponent,” de la Fuente said. “This is the first time the top four teams in the FIFA rankings have all reached the semi-finals of a single World Cup.”
The Spain coach also reflected on the significance of the historic win over France, saying, “We faced one of the best teams in the world — in fact, we played against the best team in the world at the moment. That’s what made the difference, and it will give us extra motivation going forward. These players deserve every bit of praise. Their dedication, sacrifice and talent are truly extraordinary. Watching them play today was an eye-opening experience.”
Meanwhile, Scaloni praised the Spanish coach at his own press conference ahead of the semi-final against England, saying, “I’m very happy for Luis — he deserves it. He’s a great person and has always helped me. We’ll see what happens, but he earned this success entirely on his own merit. Will I call him? That depends on the result of our match. If we win, I won’t call. And if we lose, I’ll call to wish him well — or perhaps offer some advice. But hopefully, I won’t need to call him before the final.”
