Spain boss reveals only fear ahead of World Cup final and it’s not Lionel Messi despite four-goal trauma

Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente has opened up on his fear of helicopters ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final.

La Roja face Argentina at the New York New Jersey Stadium as Spain look to follow up their Euro 2024 triumph with a second World Cup success in their history.

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However, the prospect of facing Golden Boot contender Lionel Messi and co. doesn’t worry De la Fuente.

Rather the prospect of travelling to and from the venue to speak with the press via helicopter panicked the 65-year-old.

De la Fuente opened his pre-match press conference confirming that wing-wizard Lamine Yamal is fit to start Sunday’s showpiece event.

“Lamine is ok. He got a dead leg in the penalty and was resting yesterday, but everyone trained normally today,” De la Fuente confirmed.

The Spain boss then opened up on his biggest worry prior to the final, continuing: “Nothing scares me of what is coming ahead. Well, one thing. We came by helicopter and have to return with helicopter. That worries me!”

De la Fuente went on to recall a Copa del Rey youth match when he was Sevilla academy boss.

The Seville side faced Barcelona when Messi was coming through the ranks.

And the Spain boss admitted that it’s impossible to control everything when he – referring to Messi – comes into play.

“I was involved in a cup game, Sevilla-Barcelona,” the experienced Spain boss continued.

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“We man marked Messi. With 15 minutes to go and 0-0, his marker got a yellow card, so we replaced him.

“He scored four goals. You cannot control everything that happens when he is involved.”

Spain are looking to win the World Cup for the first time since their 2010 success against the Netherlands in South Africa.

They secured their final spot with a 2-0 win over France as goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro either side of half-time wrapped up victory over Les Bleus on Tuesday.

Argentina, meanwhile, came from behind to secure a 2-1 win over England in Wednesday’s semi-final clash.