De la Fuente praised Oyarzabal as a very intelligent player.

Spain, nicknamed the "La Roja," will travel to the Akron Stadium to face Uruguay in a key Group H match of the 2026 World Cup. Head coach De la Fuente stated in an interview that Oyarzabal is a very intelligent player and he is happy to see the striker's ability recognized.

In the third round of the group stage, Spain defeated Saudi Arabia 4-0 thanks to goals from Yamal and Oyarzabal.

Spain coach De la Fuente said, "Oyarzabal is one of the best players, and we are truly grateful that Spain is finally beginning to recognize his value."

“Oyarzabal is a very intelligent person, which is fully reflected in his performance on the field, both in his footballing wisdom and his understanding of the game. He is one of the best players in the world at finding opportunities between the defenses.”

De la Fuente also said, "Few players understand football as well as he does, and he is equally outstanding in terms of scoring goals in front of the goal."

In addition, De la Fuente pointed out, "The performance in the last game did not give us any reason to change the lineup, but the substitutes also performed very well."

“After a week of training, I have carefully observed the condition of all the players and I am very satisfied with their performance. The team’s overall level is very high, and those players are earning their playing time through their performance.”

Speaking of Uruguay's head coach Marcelo Bielsa, De la Fuente said, "I have always followed his coaching career closely. When he was coaching Athletic Bilbao, I went to watch his training sessions five or six times."

"As a head coach, he is highly innovative in many ways. It is an honor and a pleasure for me to compete against him."

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