Luis de la Fuente included Pedri and Merino in the lineup

Spain national team head coach Luis de la Fuente spoke about the tactic that proved effective for Pedri and Mikel Merino. This was reported by Euro-football.ru.

He said that in the match, he initially played Pedri as an attacking midfielder and Merino just behind him. However, later he decided to swap their positions.

As a result of this change, the players began to better demonstrate their abilities and the team gained overall strength. De la Fuente assessed this decision as correct.

Last Tuesday, the Spain national team defeated Bulgaria 4-0 in the 2026 World Cup qualifying stage. In this game, Arsenal player Merino scored two goals and has scored six goals in the last four matches for the national team.

Currently, the "Red Vipers" lead the group with 12 points, ahead of Turkey (9 points). These results indicate that the national team is preparing at a high level.