Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente was delighted for his “ambitious” squad following their Euro 2024 victory against Croatia.
La Roja dominated the 3-0 win from start to finish and put down a marker for the rest of the competition at the tournament in Germany.
Alvaro Morata opened the scoring after 29 minutes, slotting home seamlessly after being played through on goal.
Fabian Ruiz added to the scoreline three minutes later, dancing through several Croatian players and firing into the bottom corner.
Dani Carvajal put the icing on the cake for Spain just before half-time, getting on the end of a Lamine Yamal cross and turning the ball into an empty net.
The win puts Spain in control of Group B and they will have a tough test against Italy in their next match, but for now De la Fuente spoke of how proud he was of his players.
He said: “I am very happy for everyone who has worked so hard to get to this point.
REPORT: First-half goals gave Spain victory over Croatia in Group B 🗞️#EURO2024 | #ESPCRO
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) June 15, 2024
“This group are ambitious and it is a huge family, so I’m delighted for everyone.
”But we must keep our feet on the ground. We’ve started well, which gives us a bit of security, but now we need to think about Italy.
“My family and friends were in the stands and I transmitted my emotions at the end of the match.
“We played a very complete game. I’m very content with how we performed in all areas of the pitch.
”For such a young team to keep such concentration throughout was particularly pleasing.”
Carvajal, who scored his first goal for Spain and recently scored in the Champions League final, was just as happy as his head coach.
He added: “We really heard our fans today, we felt them very close to us.
“So many people travelled to Berlin to get behind us. That makes us so, so happy. We’re a unit, we are a family.”
