By Fernando Kallas
DALLAS, Texas, July 13 (Reuters) - Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has told Lamine Yamal to pack away the birthday candles and any nerves, saying the teenager's grandest World Cup moment may come against France in Tuesday's semi-final or on an even bigger stage.
Lamine turned 19 on the eve of the meeting in Dallas and De la Fuente, who has long preached joy over jitters, said the forward should embrace rather than carry the occasion.
"I've told him there is no need to worry – let him enjoy
himself. I'm sure Lamine’s great World Cup day is still to come. I hope it’s tomorrow and, if not, then in the final, if we can get there," De la Fuente told reporters.
Lamine has gradually been finding form after entering the World Cup nursing a hamstring injury he suffered after converting a penalty for Barcelona in late April. He has scored one goal and failed to set up any at the tournament so far.
Spain beat France 5-4 in last year's Nations League semi-finals, but De la Fuente said the rematch would be another beast, particularly after the Spaniards almost let a 5-1 lead evaporate in the final 15 minutes.
"We learn a lot from those matches, as they will have done," he said. "We will try to repeat the scenarios where situations were favourable to us and not the others."
The Spain manager framed the contest as a clash of "antagonistic styles" and said his side must be wary of France's "very dangerous" transitions.
Asked how Spain stop forwards Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise, De la Fuente said there had been no shortage of homework.
"We’ve analysed them very, very thoroughly. They have players of exceptional calibre, but so do we. The key is to impose our own characteristics and style, and to neutralise the opposition. That’s football. The more balanced side is usually closer to winning, although that’s no guarantee," he said.
De la Fuente said France were better than the side Spain beat in 2025, with both teams sharpened by time, and insisted he would not be drawn into France coach Didier Deschamps' suggestion that Spain are favourites, dismissing the label as little more than pre-match confetti.
"Being told you are favourites or not means nothing," De la Fuente said. "We are both great teams, like in the other semi-final (England v Argentina). I don’t understand why people say such things because whether we’re the favourites or not is completely irrelevant."
De la Fuente, who described himself as "very romantic" and joked that he likes Spanish singer-songwriter Julio Iglesias, said his final message to the players would be to enjoy a moment that may not come around again.
"I tell the players that we need to enjoy ourselves; we’re in a situation that might never happen again. That we be ourselves, and that we be wary of the opposition’s strengths. We absolutely must believe we want to go through. We’ll give it our all to reach the final," De la Fuente added.
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Ken Ferris)
