According to reports, Spain’s squad have a ‘clear’ preference between England and Argentina for their World Cup final opponent.
Spain, who won the 2024 European Championships, are the first team to book their place in the final of this summer’s World Cup, having beaten France in their semi-final.
Luis de la Fuente’s side headed into Tuesday’s match against France as the underdogs, because many onlookers felt Les Blues were the side to beat at this summer’s tournament.
However, France’s superstars didn’t turn up in the semi-final, and Spain dominated en route to a deserved 2-0 victory and could have easily won by a greater margin.
Now, Spain’s squad will inevitably watch on as England and Argentina face off in the other semi-final, with a repeat of the Euro 2024 final to be set with a win for The Three Lions.
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Spain have ‘clear’ preference between England and Argentina
And Spanish reporter for El Chiringuito, Juanfe Sanz, has claimed that it is “crystal clear” that Spain’s players would prefer to face Argentina over England.
“I have less than 23 hours to learn songs I’ll probably never sing again, because I really want to face Argentina in the final. I don’t even want to see England, I want Argentina in the final,” Sanz said after Spain’s win over France.
“It’s great that Luis de la Fuente gets along with Scaloni [Argentina’s head coach] and that they chat on the phone, but I want Argentina, and I want to inflict as much damage as possible on the footballing front.
“I think, and I’m sure of this, that in the Spain’s dressing room, the team they’re most eager to face is Argentina. It’s crystal clear – they don’t want a final against England, they want Argentina.
“And looking at how things are going, with the confidence they [Spain] show every day, and how they play like they’re untouchable yet still deliver a performance like today’s, let them keep acting that way, with that ego.
“And let me be clear – I want to crush Argentina. Tomorrow, I’m all about Argentina, I’m totally pro-Argentina.”
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And when asked why Spain’s players would prefer to play Argentina over England, Sanz explained why it is “the perfect storm.”
Sanz added: “Well, even if we don’t realise it, the polls from shows like El Chiringuito have reached the dressing room, the fans’ sentiment has got through… how they’ve belittled us, the comments from the Argentine press, who I think are a bit full of themselves, I think there was someone on TV who said Argentina would undoubtedly win the World Cup, and others celebrating it as if it were their own national team.
“It’s the perfect storm, especially after the Finalissima that never happened [Spain’s friendly against Argentina was cancelled in March due to unrest in the Middle East], where they accused us of pulling out because we were afraid of them.
“Well, the moment has arrived. I hope there’s a 377-minute extra-time period and they end up absolutely exhausted.
“But I’ll celebrate the final penalty Argentina scores in the shootout tomorrow against England, I’ll celebrate it almost like Porro’s goal today, or Oyarzabal’s goal. So yeah, I’m really looking forward to the final. And if they lose? Well, it’s a win-win situation.”
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