De la Fuente defends Rodri as 'best in world' after Spain's shock draw with Cape Verde

Spain manager Luis de la Fuente has launched a fierce defence of Rodri after the European champions were held to a goalless draw by Cape Verde in their 2026 World Cup opener, calling criticism of the Manchester City midfielder ‘incredibly insulting’.

Spain entered the tournament as favourites but failed to break down their African opponents, with De la Fuente himself drawing criticism at home for his team selection and the timing of his substitutions — he named Gavi and Ferran Torres as wingers and waited until past the 70th minute to make any changes.

Rodri, who was central to Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph and won the Ballon d’Or for his efforts, has been accused of slowing the team’s rhythm. De la Fuente was having none of it.

“It seems incredibly insulting to me that people would say that about the best player in the world,” he told Cadena COPE radio. “Would people say that about others who are considered the best in the world? I think they wouldn’t dare. But because they’re Spanish, we say things about our own that we wouldn’t about others. Rodri is the best player in the world. Even at 50%, he is better than most other midfielders in the world. He brings clarity, vision, balance. Rodri is an inspiration for us.”

Attention will now turn to Lamine Yamal, who arrived at the tournament carrying an injury and was restricted to a substitute appearance against Cape Verde. De la Fuente was measured about the Barcelona forward’s involvement going forward.

“We’ll evaluate it,” he said. “Games are decided in the second half. You don’t win many games in the first 45 minutes. We’ll assess it, whether it’s best for him to start, or whether to take advantage of the opponent’s tiredness in the final minutes, when Lamine is decisive. It will depend on the state of the game.”

The Spain boss also drew on recent history to ease concerns about players carrying knocks into a major tournament. “In the last Euros, Dani Olmo came in with an injury. He could have stayed at home. We decided to risk him. Olmo came, he recovered, and he was top scorer. Nobody remembers that now, but I do.”

Spain will need a sharp improvement in their next group fixture if they are to live up to their billing as one of the tournament’s leading contenders.