Despite being in the World Cup semi-finals, Luis de la Fuente is still being badgered about his squad selection.
Spain face France in Texas on Tuesday night and should finally have a fully fit squad.
So far that’s not been the case for De la Fuente who called up three injured wingers and has barely been able to rely on one of them.
Lamine Yamal hasn’t had an attacking output, while Nico Williams returned against Uruguay and had an injury aggravated by a heavy challenge.
Worse than that, Victor Munoz is yet to play.
The new Liverpool signing similarly was selected injured and then suffered a relapse in training.
De la Fuente forced to defend Munoz call up
Speaking before facing France, De la Fuente again had to defend his selections to leading radio channel Cadena SER.
“Victor and Nico’s recent training sessions have been extraordinary, full of spark and explosiveness,” he said.
“We’ll have to see when it might be important for them to play, but they’re in perfect condition.”
He added on the initial selection: “We planned it because we knew Nico wouldn’t be there, and there was some doubt about Victor.
“The team is in perfect shape and they’ve reached the point they need to reach.”
Despite De la Fuente’s reasoning, the choices still haven’t gone down well back home.
Why Spain’s squad selection has been controversial
Summing up the mood, leading journalist Raúl Varela wrote: “Victor Munoz’s situation is difficult to explain and accept.
“He came injured, he’s still injured, and we’ll see if he returns home injured for Spain after the World Cup. One less for the cause.
“Nico said in Marca that he’d had a shitty year, and from what we can see, he still hasn’t managed to put it behind him
“You can wait for Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, but for Spain to wait three weeks for Victor Munoz seems excessive to me.
“He arrived injured, has been out of the group for two weeks, and has suffered a relapse.”
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