"They are very fired up," said Spanish coach Luis de la Fuente on Saturday on the eve of La Roja's second match in the World Cup, against Saudi Arabia, without saying whether Lamine Yamal would start the match or not.

"We have to win tomorrow, period. The team is fired up. Criticism motivates much more and produces a beneficial effect. This generation of players has a huge competitive spirit and they are very fired up, very fired up, the face will be totally different," continued the coach of the European champions, still very relaxed and smiling in front of the press, despite the frustrating draw on Monday against Cape Verde (0-0) in the first match.

"No discouragement has set in," he assured. "What they want is to play again, they are dying to compete," the coach continued.

"We'll see if changes are necessary, I think so. Not because one has been better or worse, but to look for different things," he said regarding the starting eleven he will field on Sunday at 4:00 PM GMT in Atlanta.

When repeatedly asked about Lamine Yamal, who is not yet 100% fit following a thigh injury, De la Fuente replied: "The most important thing is that he is back, with a crazy desire to do something great, that's the best news... He is at the point where we have to hold him back so that he only does what he has to do at this stage of the process," without saying whether he would be a starter or not.

This week, the coach assured Radio Cope that the young Barcelona striker could play "for an hour".

"The decision we make tomorrow will show that we are prioritizing the player's health," he nevertheless indicated. "He is an exceptionally mature young man. He is experiencing all of this with complete normalcy, which is a great virtue; we must let him continue on his path."

"Footballers of this type are geniuses. Dali, Michelangelo... Geniuses feel at ease in extreme situations, for us it's exceptional, for them it's natural," he said.

Saudi Arabia's national team coach, Georgios Donis, also had a word for the Barcelona prodigy, whom he called "perhaps the greatest talent in the world." "He has been the best possible replacement for Messi at Barça, considering his age and his quality of football. But what stands out most is his maturity; he knows what to do at every moment," he added.

Asked about the Saudi victory at the 2022 World Cup against the future world champions Argentina, Hervé Renard's successor asserts that "in football, there are miracles, we have seen it many times. We have seen favorite teams lose against outsiders, even if these are very small percentages."