Spain Coach De La Fuente Confident After Iraq Draw As Debutants Impress Ahead Of World Cup

Spain left A Coruna with a 1-1 draw against Iraq, yet Luis de la Fuente said the World Cup plan remains clear. The head coach confirmed a near-complete starting line-up for the opening game, while also praising several debutants and welcoming back Mikel Merino from injury.

The friendly, Spain's last on home ground before travelling, saw Ferran Torres strike early for La Roja. Iraq responded before the half-hour mark through Merchas Doski, whose powerful finish from a narrow angle levelled the match, and neither side could break the deadlock after the interval.

De la Fuente stressed that preparation for the Spain World Cup opener is already advanced. The coach said the staff have chosen a goalkeeper and 10 outfield players for the first World Cup fixture, with only minor decisions left as the team counts down the remaining 11 days.

"They all [the debutants] deserved it, he said. The match gave all the promising youngsters the opportunity to make their debuts; they earned it. They helped us tremendously; they are players for the future who we will surely see in the senior squad soon. Another objective has been achieved. We don't see ourselves as just friendly matches. We had certain objectives against Iraq, but we also needed to meet certain physical requirements. My plan remains the same; we'll see how things develop in the coming days. There are 11 days until the opening match and another friendly in four. We've already decided on the goalkeeper and 10 other players."

The coach highlighted that the Iraq game was not viewed as a low-key exercise, despite the draw. Spain approached the contest with specific tactical and fitness targets, and De la Fuente felt the new caps responded well, strengthening their case for roles around the senior squad in future tournaments.

Mikel Merino minutes boost Spain World Cup opener hopes

Another key takeaway was Mikel Merino's return after injury, offering Spain extra midfield depth before the Spain World Cup opener. Merino, joint-top scorer for Spain in World Cup qualifying with six goals, entered in the 68th minute but had only 23 touches in a fragmented second half.

"The minutes Mikel has played are good news, De la Fuente added. He needs to continue building up his workload, but he's handling it well, and we're very happy. But other players are going to contribute a lot to us in this championship and in the future."

Spain now travel to Mexico for a final warm-up against Peru in four days, with the training load carefully managed before the Spain World Cup opener. Despite the Iraq draw, De la Fuente appeared satisfied that key goals were met, both in selection clarity and in testing squad options under competitive conditions.