Tennessee [US], July 9 (ANI): Ahead of his side’s FIFA World Cup quarterfinal against Belgium, Spain and Barcelona star Dani Olmo said that the team treats every match as if it is a final and hailed 18-year-old Lamine Yamal for his recent performances.
Spain will be aiming to punch their ticket to the final four of the FIFA World Cup for the first time since their championship-winning run in 2010, and at the centre of their hopes for the same is Yamal, who delivered a solid performance against Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal despite not getting his name on the scoresheet.
Speaking ahead of the match, Olmo said in the pre-match presser, “We face every match as if it were a final, and that is how Luis (de la Fuente, the head coach) tells us. The most important match is the one that is coming up.”
He also spoke on his team’s 35-match unbeaten run in international football, saying that maintaining such a streak was not a goal, but the real goal is to “win it all” and add a second star to their shirts.
On Lamine, he said, “I see Lamine doing well. He is gaining confidence after the initial problems, and he is getting better and better. He wants to prove himself, and he is going to give us a lot.”
“We understand each other well on the field with or without the ball,” he added.
Lamine arrived at the World Cup with a hamstring injury and started the campaign on the bench, and was drafted in the second group stage match against Saudi Arabia, in which he scored a goal. Against Portugal, Lamine had three attempts on goal, including two on target and kept the 2010 champion side’s attacking juices flowing.
Further speaking of his team’s all-round game, Dani said that they have said where “all attack and defend”.
During the clash against Portugal in the round of 16, Spain became the first team in WC history to complete six successive clean sheets, with Unai Simon being unbeaten as a goalie for 609 minutes straight, an all-time FIFA World Cup record.
“We are very happy about Unai’s record, and hopefully we can keep a clean sheet,” he signed off. (ANI)
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