Spain's De la Fuente says officials must not allow rules to be broken in final
Argentina has been portrayed by some media as a "dirty team" following its semi-final victory over England, but De la Fuente said Spain would remain focused on its own style rather than becoming distracted by its opponent
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente urged referee Slavko Vinčić to ensure the rules are enforced in Sunday's World Cup final against Argentina, saying officials should not allow the match to cross the "lines of footballing legality".
Argentina has been portrayed by some media as a "dirty team" following its semi-final victory over England, but De la Fuente said Spain would remain focused on its own style rather than becoming distracted by its opponent, says DPA.
"The referee cannot act passively and allow the rules to be broken," De la Fuente told reporters. "Those lines of footballing legality cannot be crossed. I have unwavering faith in the referees, but I also have unwavering faith that we clearly know what kind of match we need to approach."
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Spain's priority would be to stick to its footballing philosophy regardless of how Argentina approached the game, he added.
"They're going to play their football, but we have to focus solely and exclusively on our own, on strengthening our style and improving it. If we stray from our philosophy and our model, we will suffer," De la Fuente said. "We feel comfortable in the football arena, in the game, in being true to our idea, in not falling for provocations."
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, who is seeking to become the first manager since the 1930s to win back-to-back men's World Cups, dismissed suggestions that his team's experience of recent finals would give it an advantage over the European champions.
"If Spain leaves the hotel, I am already concerned," Scaloni said. "Once they are on the bus and they leave the hotel, I am concerned. They are a great team. Everything concerns me about Spain."
Scaloni said Spain's players were no strangers to the biggest occasions and would not be overawed by the occasion.
"They also have players who have played on the biggest stages in world football. And they are top players for their teams. So when it comes to pressure, when the ball starts rolling, players forget about this and they just focus on playing," he said.
"They played a Euro final and a Nations League final. They also have a great deal of experience. I don't think being in a final again plays in our favour."
The final is also expected to mark Lionel Messi's last appearance at the World Cup. The 39-year-old enters the match as the tournament's all-time leading scorer with 21 goals.
De la Fuente recalled first seeing Messi as a youth player, saying the Argentina captain had long possessed the ability to change a game in moments.
"I met Messi when I was coaching Sevilla's youth teams," De la Fuente said. "We were 0-0 when they gave a card to the player marking him. They scored four on us in 15 minutes."
