Man of Spain’s qualification against Germany in the Euro quarter-finals, Dani Olmo will again be under scrutiny this Tuesday against the French team in the semi-finals. Speaking to the Spanish press, the Leipzig attacking midfielder warned France: La Roja is ready!
Spain has been the standout team of this Euro. Impressive in every match, La Roja battled their way to the semi-finals of the continental tournament after a superb contest against host Germany, which they won in extra time with a header from Mikel Merino at the very end.
Despite Merino’s heroic action, the man of the match in Stuttgart was Dani Olmo. Symbolizing one of Spain’s collective strengths with his determination off the bench, the RB Leipzig midfielder entered the fray with a fierce competitive spirit, perfectly filling in for the prematurely departed Pedri. With Pedri set to be out for several more weeks, the 26-year-old is expected to retain his place in Luis de la Fuente’s starting eleven this Tuesday against France, barring any surprises.
And it’s fair to say that the former Dinamo Zagreb player is prepared to face the French team. Aware that the prospect of Spain winning its first Euro since 2012 is close, Olmo is determined to leave nothing on the field against Didier Deschamps’ squad in pursuit of glory.
This was evident in his interview with Mundo Deportivo: ‘Winning the Euro? Well yes, we’re almost there. One step, but it still needs to be taken. It’s not easy, facing a France that is always tough, so there’s not much left, but yes, let’s go for it. Yes, we had just won the Nations League, we had a very good momentum, very good games, good feelings, and we knew we had a team and a group capable of going far. That’s how it turned out, we’re in the semi-finals, but we want more.’ Dani Olmo doesn’t downplay either France’s journey or strengths.
His statement suggests that Olmo views Spain as superior to France. When asked about his strong opinion, the sought-after midfielder tempered his stance, affirming that he aims to reach the final but acknowledging that France could pose a challenge, despite the tumultuous journey of Les Bleus: ‘No, no. France is a very good team and if they reached the semi-finals, it’s on their own merit and not by surprise. We know what their players can do.
We need to focus on their individual technical quality in attack, but overall, I think we need to concentrate on what we do. We’re in very good form, performing well, playing very well, so we must continue. We can discuss how they got here, but they’re in the semi-finals on their own merit.
We also need to win, we need to suffer. They also played extra time, and in that case, they won on penalties, but we need to win. We’ve played matches against them, we know them well, we know what they can do. There are teammates who are also teammates of the French players. It will be a great Euro semi-final.’
In Spain, one of France’s strengths is always considered to be Kylian Mbappé. Despite being somewhat diminished after a physically and mentally taxing season, and notably playing with a broken nose since the start of the tournament, the new Real Madrid striker still instills fear across the Pyrenees.
In the late afternoon, Luis de la Fuente, the Spanish coach, affirmed that a plan for Mbappé was naturally considered ahead of the clash with Les Bleus. When asked about the Bondynois, Dani Olmo naturally showed respect for the French captain.
However, the Spanish number 10 is also wary of other French players: ‘Mbappé is a game-changer and we must be cautious, but they also have players like Dembélé, Griezmann, Kanté, who are having a very good tournament, Rabiot… All those who play in these more offensive positions are players to watch, but we will be ready.
We’ve watched their matches and I’ve studied them. We’ve already started to analyze and discuss a bit. There are things, but nothing we haven’t done with other teams.’ It remains to be seen if Dani Olmo will remain as confident come Tuesday at 9 PM!”
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