Spain closing in on World Cup spot despite injury setbacks

VIDEO SHOWS: PRESS CONFERENCE COMMENTS FROM SPAIN HEAD COACH LUIS DE LA FUENTE AHEAD OF FIFA WORLD CUP QUALIFIER AT HOME TO BULGARIA RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SHOTLIST *EDITORS NOTE: FOR SPAIN TRAINING SEE EDIT 3136-SOCCER-WORLDCUP-ESP-BGR/PREVIEW* SHOWS: VALLADOLID, SPAIN (OCTOBER 13, 2025) (RFEF – Must not obscure logo. No resales. No monetisation) 1. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) SPAIN HEAD COACH, LUIS DE LA FUENTE, ON PLAYERS GETTING INJURED ON INTERNATIONAL DUTY, SAYING: "What is clear is that footballers unfortunately get injured every matchday in the league, and players can get injured playing for the national team too. It’s just another match. But I don’t know why much more fuss gets made when they get injured with the national team. It should be a source of pride for all of us to have them here." 2. WHITE FLASH 3. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) SPAIN HEAD COACH, LUIS DE LA FUENTE, ON WHETHER HIS PLAYERS PRIORITISE BEING FIT FOR THEIR CLUBS, SAYING: "The qualitative leap in their professional careers comes when they get called up to the national team. That’s something nobody should forget about. They can be very good players already but when they start playing with the national team their value multiplies. That’s the authentic reality of football. It’s the situation we live in. The players know the demands here are very high, and those of us who’ve played a sport like football know there are types of injuries that are manageable, that players can recover from, and others that aren’t." 4. WHITE FLASH 5. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) SPAIN HEAD COACH, LUIS DE LA FUENTE, SAYING: "No, we always want to put the most competitive team out there. Wins aren’t gifted out at this level. I have a lot of responsibility to field the most competitive team, what we think will be the best team for every individual match, and not because some players are playing more than others. Everything here is earned. Tomorrow, our responsibility is to keep winning. We want to keep winning. This team is very hungry and tomorrow’s match carries added significance because we can almost clinch qualification (for the World Cup)." STORY: Spain are hoping to continue their dominant start to World Cup qualifying when they host Bulgaria in Valladolid's Jose Zorrilla Stadium on Tuesday (October 14). Luis de la Fuente's side have struggled with injuries of late with Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and 2024 Ballon d'Or winner Rodri all sidelined.  Barcelona forward Ferran Torres was then forced to pull out of the national team squad due to muscle soreness in his left hamstring after playing the full 90 minutes of Spain's 2-0 win over Georgia on Saturday. Despite the setbacks, Spain are top of Group E with nine points, three ahead of Turkey while Georgia remain third on three. Bulgaria sit rock bottom having suffered three consecutive defeats to start their campaign.  (Production: Conal Quinn)

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