MADRID, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has shown his respect towards Türkiye ahead of their final qualifier although his side has all-but sealed its place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a 4-0 win in Georgia on Saturday.
Despite missing players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Pedri, the reigning European champions produced another dominant display and have won all five qualifying games without conceding a goal while scoring 19.
Although Spain is not mathematically assured of qualification until Tuesday, it would need to lose 7-0 at home to Türkiye to miss out on direct qualification.
However, De la Fuente still doesn't want to celebrate booking a World Cup ticket.
"We have a lot of respect for our rival [Türkiye] and for every team we play, so we have to keep our feet on the ground until we have qualified," he said.
De la Fuente was happy with a perfect qualifying campaign that has extended his side's unbeaten run across all competitions to 30 matches.
"It's a great motive to be proud of these players. I am very lucky, but we still have a long way to go. We still want to achieve more things and get even better results, and it's very nice to be able to coach this group of young players, who never tire of working to improve," he said.
The coach said the absence of Williams, Pedri and Yamal "gives a chance to other players who might not otherwise get them, and that is the success of the Spanish game, the clubs who work to develop players, and the players themselves." ■
